


frankie

by rita5



Series: frankie-verse [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I stole Frances name whoops, M/M, Out of Character, Slow Burn, kind of, like extremely slow but it's worth it, they start off as friends instead of enemies this time, thomas has a baby and she prefers hamilton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9458150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rita5/pseuds/rita5
Summary: A combination of these two au ideas:“I called you because I know that you had four younger siblings and I don’t know what to do because my baby won’t stop crying and I know that it’s 4 a.m. but I need you.”"you’ve been sleeping at mine because your house is being renovated and we aren’t even dating, yet every time you wake up to the baby crying and sigh, “i’ll go” i feel like we might as well be married"COMPLETE! 3/7





	1. frances

**Author's Note:**

> it's 11:31pm on jan 24th as i type this so technically it's still daveed's birthday! I wanted to do something for his birthday but i've been babysitting all day (which is kind of where this came from) so i haven't had a chance to draw anything or make an edit. so i sat down and typed this as fast as i could to get it out before midnight and that means it's not gonna be a oneshot like i wanted! this will probably be a two parter, MAYBE three. I somehow got 3k words already so we're looking at 6k - 10k words total.
> 
> in honor of daveed's birthday, here's the kid!fic nobody asked for but my heart needed xoxo

Thomas was at a loss. He'd been rocking and singing and bouncing and cuddling for three hours now and she won't stop screaming. Frances Luella Jefferson was beautiful and perfect and everything he ever wanted but she also gave him one hell of a migraine. Thomas turned thirty last year and he'd always dreamed of having a child but he had never been in a relationship serious enough to consider it. He decided to find a surrogate and the process had - thankfully - been quick and easy. And given Thomas's government career, he was able to get financial aid. Everything worked out in his favor. It was meant to be. But now, Thomas had been walking in circles around the nursery for thirty minutes with a two week old shrieking in his ear so terribly, he wasn't sure how she hadn't lost her voice yet.

Thomas realized there were tears streaking down his cheeks and he just couldn't do anything else. He laid his screaming daughter down in her crib and her crying intensified as she made it very clear that was NOT what she wanted. Thomas pulled out his phone. It was almost four in the morning. His vision was slightly blurry from the throbbing in his head but he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Hamilton. He debated for a second whether or not this was a good idea. He and Hamilton were new friends; after years of bickering, you kind of run out of things to argue about, so they eventually called a truce and decided to be civil to one another. Was it appropriate this early on in a friendship to call someone when you're crying in the middle of the night? Frances took a huge breath and wailed at top volume. Thomas had no choice. He pressed call and started praying.

"Hello?" Came the bleary voice of Hamilton after three rings.

"Hamilton. I need your help."

"Thomas?" Hamilton immediately sounded more awake and the rustling of blankets sounded in the background. "What's wrong? Is the baby okay? I hear screaming, what's happening?" He sounded increasingly panicked and Thomas shushed him.

"She's fine, she's not hurt, don't worry. I just.. I don't know what to do. She's been screaming for three hours and I can't get her to stop and my head -" Thomas was choked off by a sob and he tried to cover it with a fake cough. He inhaled slowly and tried again. "I know you don't have kids but didn't you basically raise James? I know you've done volunteer work at the orphanage, can you help me?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, text me your address." Alexander hung up without a response and Thomas wiped his face with his shirt. He had to try several times to type his own address out and as soon as he sent it, he collapsed in the recliner, exhausted.

Less than twenty minutes later, there was a knock at his door and Thomas stumbled across the house to answer it. He opened the door and almost started crying at the sight of Alexander. He sniffed and let the other man inside.

"I had to lay her back down." Thomas said over Frances's screams, "I feel like I'm about to die." Alexander placed a warm hand on Thomas's shoulder and Thomas was way too far gone to read into that so he just closed his eyes.

"You look horrible." Thomas managed a small smile. "Go lay down, I'll see what I can do." Thomas nodded and they walked side by side down the hallway. Thomas pointed out the nursery and Alexander nodded then grabbed Thomas by the arm again as he started to go into his bedroom. "Wait. What's her name?"

"Frances." Alexander nodded and released Thomas. Thomas laid down gingerly in his bed and took deep breaths to help the pain in his head. Frances hadn't quieted down, but through two closed doors, Thomas could barely hear her. He fell asleep within ten minutes.

When Thomas woke up, six hours later, it was completely silent for once. He glanced at his phone for the time. It was 10am, Frances would be waking up for her morning meal soon. Thomas furrows his eyebrows because she also should have woken up hours ago to eat, so why didn't he wake up? He jumped out of bed and rushed to the nursery, throwing open the door to find - Alexander. Alexander Hamilton was asleep in the recliner with little Frances curled on his chest. She was so small, she fit in one of his hands, but he had both hands on her back. The recliner was pushed back so Alexander could lay down on it and put his feet up. Thomas took a step closer and looked at the face of his previous enemy. The laugh lines of his face were smoothed out and his mouth was slightly open. Thomas's heart thudded uncomfortably in his chest. He knelt down and admired Frances. Even after two weeks of doing almost nothing except looking at her face, he could still stare at her for hours. She had dark skin, darker than his, and a perfect mass of black curls on top of her head. She had a tiny button nose and her cheeks were squishy and Thomas was in love. He resisted stroking a finger across her cheek. Instead, he stood back up and tried to move Alexander's hands off so he could put Frances in her crib, but Alexander only clutched at her and stirred in his sleep. He muttered under his breath and Thomas sighed.

"Alexander." Alexander blinked his eyes open and Thomas raised an eyebrow at him. Alexander looked between them and realized he was holding onto Frances.

"Oh, sorry!" He whispered before dropping his hands to his stomach. Thomas scooped Frances up and laid her down gently in the crib. He offered a hand to Alexander and helped the man stand up. Alexander stretched his arms over his head and Thomas caught a glimpse of the tan skin on his waist. Thomas tore his eyes away and motioned for Hamilton to follow him. Thomas padded into the kitchen and pulled out a pan, along with butter and eggs.

"I hope you like eggs cus that's all I've been eating for the past few days." Thomas joked and Alexander grinned.

"No wonder it smells so bad in here." Thomas laughed and set the pan on the stove then cracked a few eggs into it.

"No, that would be the hundreds of poopy diapers hiding in the bathroom. Why do babies poop so much?" Thomas bemoaned. Alexander leaned over the counter facing him and giggled.

"Aw, come on, don't blame your daughter for the way you smell!" Alexander jeered and Thomas felt a thrill go up his spine at the word daughter. He had a daughter. It was so surreal.

"You're probably right, I'm sure I smell like garbage right now. I don't remember the last time I took a shower. Oh, the glamorous life of being a parent!" Thomas sung as he scrambled the sizzling eggs in the pan. Alexander made a face.

"You don't really smell. Why haven't you taken a shower?" Alex asked.

"I never have a chance, when she sleeps, I'm either sleeping or working."

"Aren't you on paternal leave?"

"Yes, but I can still do work online. You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let you get ahead of me just because I'm a parent now!" Alexander laughed.

"If it were me, I would probably be cuddling Frankie all the time and never get anything done."

"Frances." Thomas corrected, grabbing two plates from the cabinet and scooping eggs onto them.

"Frankie." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"If I wanted her to be called Frankie, that's what I would have named her." Alexander shrugged and accepted his plate of food. He didn't argue any further and when the two were done eating, he excused himself to go home. Thomas accompanied him to the door and waited until Alexander was about to walk out before he spoke.

"Hey, thanks again for coming last night. Seriously, you're a lifesaver. I don't know what I would have done if you said no." Alexander's face softened and he pulled Thomas into a hug. Thomas stood stiffly for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Hamilton's back and returned the embrace.

"Don't worry about it. She's a doll. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

"No, _you_ let _me_ know if there's anything I can do to pay you back." Thomas chuckled, pulling away and opening the door for Alexander.

"Alright," Alexander agreed, "I will. Enjoy your baby, Thomas." Thomas almost said 'you too' but caught himself just in time. He nodded and closed the door quietly behind Alexander.

\--

Six months later and Thomas's break from work was almost over. He and Alexander talked almost daily through text or skype or some other means. Thomas was sad that he wouldn't be able to spend all his time with Frances, but he was itching to get back to work. He kept their schedules busy with trips to the park, baby sign language classes, baby swim lessons, all kind of stuff, but his brain wasn't being challenged like he needed. Thomas was in the middle of giving Frances a bath one day when his phone rang and Alexander's name flashed on the screen. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for Alexander to call - sometimes he called at night and requested to be put on speaker so he could say good night to Frances - but it wasn't their usual means of communication.

"Hello?"

"Thomas! My boy, my good man!" Hamilton boomed loud enough for Frances to hear. She squealed and splashed in the tub.

"What's happening?" Thomas said warily.

"So - remember how you owe me a favor for helping with Frankie?"

"Frances. What do you need?" Alexander took a big breath and Thomas prepared himself mentally for the onslaught of words.

"Well, my apartment is being renovated, they found literally a whole family of cats living in the wall and that wall is ruined now with pee and just destruction in general, so they're going to have to take it out and put a new wall in but it's going to take a few weeks at least and my landlord isn't going to let me stay there while the repairs are being done, apparently the smells are toxic and I'm 'too nosy' and I'll 'cause trouble'." Thomas hummed at that, "So basically, I'm homeless for the next month and you live closer to me and the office than Laurens or anybody else.."

"Are you asking to move in with me?" Thomas monotoned.

"It's just for a couple weeks. A month tops. I can babysit." Thomas chuckled and balanced the phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he wrapped Frances in a towel and carried her to the nursery.

"I could use a cheap sitter." He remarked and Alexander's fingers snapped loud enough for Thomas to hear.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Thomas! I already packed my stuff, I'll be there in twenty minutes." Thomas sighed and made eye contact with Frances, who was staring at him expectantly.

"Okay, before you go, can you say hi to Frankie? She knows I'm on the phone with you and she looks like she might start crying if I hang up." It was true. Frances had one finger in her mouth, like she did when she was about to cry, and her dark brown eyes were glued to the phone against Thomas's face. Thomas pulled the phone away and put it on speaker.

"FRANKIE!" Alexander shouted, causing Frances to make a high pitched noise and slap at the phone with both hands. Her face contorted into a huge, gummy grin. She was a late bloomer physically and had yet to break any teeth. Thomas wasn't complaining, he'd heard horror stories about how hard it is to have a teething baby. Alexander's voice interrupted his train of thought, "How's my girl?! Are you being good for Papa?" Thomas smiled as Frances used one clumsy finger to poke at the phone screen.

"She says she's been good. I just got her out of the bath so unless she poops right now, she'll be nice and clean when you get here." Thomas answered on Frances's behalf, realizing he actually needed to get a diaper on her before it was too late.

"Hooray! I'll be there before you know it, sweet girl. See you in a bit, Thomas!" Thomas said goodbye and hung up the phone. By the time he'd put a diaper on Frankie and wrangled her into a fuzzy blue onesie with little stars on it, Alexander was knocking on the door. Thomas sat Frankie down on the living room floor and let Alex inside. Alexander had three tote bags, stuffed with God knows what, on his shoulder and he entered the house as soon as Thomas got the door open. Alexander scanned the room for Frankie, who was frozen in place staring at him. She hadn't seen Alexander since that first night, so she had no memory of what he looked like. When Alex spotted Frankie in the middle of the floor, he dropped all three bags dramatically and yelled, "FRANKIE!"

Frankie jumped at the sudden noise but she recognized Alexander's voice and screeched loudly, making grabby hands towards the man and knocking herself so off balance that she toppled over and rolled onto the floor. She wasn't hurt, but Alexander rushed to her side anyway and scooped her up. He held her close to his chest and rocked them back and forth.

"Frankie! My girl! My doll! My baby!" Alexander cried dramatically. Thomas cackled at his antics and shut the front door.

"Frances." Thomas corrected again then sat down on the floor next to them. Frankie was babbling incoherently and already had one hand fisted in Alexander's hair. Alex sat her down in front of him and disengaged her hand with ease. Thomas was jealous - it took him ages to get her grubby fingers out when she managed to get a hold on him like that. Alexander gave the baby a once over.

"Look at you! I can't believe you're so big!" He cooed and Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I send you pictures of her every day." Thomas said and Alexander focused his attention on Thomas just long enough to give him a wide smile.

"I know, but look at her hair! I have to do something with it while I'm here." Frankie's hair had gotten pretty long. Thomas tried to take good care of it. It was puffy and when it was brushed out, could be stretched all the way down her neck. When it wasn't brushed out, it curled up in little black kinks and made her look like some kind of hair model. Thomas loved his hair, but he was definitely jealous of how nicely Frankie's hair laid on top of her head. She looked like a little cherub.

"You could give her pigtails. I've tried but she moves too much when I do it. She would probably sit still for you." Alexander nodded in agreement and waggled his fingers in front of Frankie's face. She giggled her high pitched birdy laugh and grabbed his forefinger in one hand. Thomas stood back up and went to grab Alexander's bags then paused as a thought entered his mind that he hadn't considered before.

"I just realized, I don't have a guest room or extra mattress." Alexander glanced around.

"That's fine, I'll sleep on the couch."

"For a month? I don't think so." Thomas thought on it for a second but there was really only one solution. "Okay, hear me out. No homo, but.. I think you're just going to have to share a bed with me." This got Alexander's attention. He turned around on the floor to face Thomas.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to be put out." Thomas shook his head.

"It's not a big deal. My bed is big enough for two people. I had roommates in college, this can't be much different." Alexander thought about this for a minute and then stood up, hoisting Frankie on his hip.

"If you say so." He grabbed a bag and Thomas grabbed the other two. They hauled the bags into Thomas's room and Alexander gently tossed Frankie on the bed. He made kissy noises in her face and she squealed with laughter. "Are we gonna be roomies, Frankie? Huh?" He cooed and Thomas smacked his thigh.

"Not if you're going to keep talking to her like she's a baby. Baby talk is banned in this house." Alexander pouted and kicked at Thomas's leg from his spot on the bed.

"You're no fun. Say "Taxation is theft!", Frankie! Taxation is theft!" Frankie babbled obediently and Thomas rolled his eyes so hard they might have gotten stuck like that.

"Jesus. A month of this."

A month turned into two months, which turned into three months. Only a week had passed when Alexander got a call from his landlord that there was a flea infestation (thanks to the cats) and his building had to be evacuated for exterminators. Alexander, the trained lawyer, couldn't break his contract and move to another apartment complex. Thomas didn't mind having him stay, though. Frankie had never been happier than with two people showering her in affection. She adored Alexander and, with his help, her babbles started turning into more distinguishable 'words'. She would say "Baba" when she wanted a bottle and "Nana" when it was bedtime. Thomas found it kind of silly until she looked at him one day and said, "Papa!" Thomas froze in his tracks and called Alexander immediately.

"Frankie just called me Papa! She just said my name!" Thomas shouted and Alexander screamed.

"I'm on my way home, don't let her say it again until I get there!" Thomas ignored the way his stomach flipped when Alexander said home. It was just an accident, surely. He pulled the camera app out on his phone and sat in front of Frankie, who was looking at him like he was crazy, until Alexander got back. Alex burst through the front door - oh yeah, Thomas got him a key - and rushed to where Frankie and Thomas were sitting.

"Did she say it again?!" He said breathlessly. Thomas sighed.

"No, but-"

"Dada!" Frankie interrupted Thomas and he stared blankly at her. She was staring right at Alexander. She had one hand reached out towards him. "Dada!" She repeated very deliberately. Alexander and Thomas looked at each other at the same time. Alexander opened his mouth to say something but Frankie screamed again before he had the chance. "Dada!" She shrieked, angry that he wasn't acknowledging her. Alexander turned away from Thomas and picked Frankie up.

"I'm here, girl. It's okay." She nuzzled into his chest and Thomas didn't know what he was feeling. He watched Frankie cuddle Alexander and Alexander rub a soothing hand on her back like he had done so many months ago and Thomas decided he needed a drink.


	2. narnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they order food and bicker about the name frank and it's grossly sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> APPARENTLY THIS ISN"T GOING TO BE TWO CHAPTERS AFTER ALL FFS
> 
> oops kind of changed writing styles sorry i just read a fic that went by days like "FRIDAY" then "SATURDAY" etc and it worked really well so im going to do that starting with this chapter. also i wanted this to be longer but i also wanted to update already so???? the struggle

**FRIDAY**

_"Dada!" Frankie interrupted Thomas and he stared blankly at her. She was staring right at Alexander. She had one hand reached out towards him. "Dada!" She repeated very deliberately. Alexander and Thomas looked at each other at the same time. Alexander opened his mouth to say something but Frankie screamed again before he had the chance. "Dada!" She shrieked, angry that he wasn't acknowledging her. Alexander turned away from Thomas and picked Frankie up._

_"I'm here, girl. It's okay." She nuzzled into his chest and Thomas didn't know what he was feeling. He watched Frankie cuddle Alexander and Alexander rub a soothing hand on her back like he had done so many months ago and Thomas decided he needed a drink._

Immediately following this interaction, Alexander took Frankie to the nursery to play with toys while Thomas ordered dinner. Alexander had been insisting on paying for their food, reasoning that he wasn't paying rent so it only made sense for him to pay for meals. Thomas called a Chinese restaurant and read off the numbers on Alexander's debit card with ease - he'd done it at least five times in the past week because neither of them could be bothered to cook. Thomas had to ask the lady on the line to repeat herself twice because he was so zoned out. Eventually, he finished on the phone and headed to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of wine. Thomas had to dig through the pile of plastic dishes and bottles in the cabinet - Frankie was just at the age where she wanted to start experimenting with food and Alexander gifted them a set of dishes made from recycled milk jugs for her half birthday. He'd had them directly shipped to Thomas's house along with a plushie llama that Thomas thought looked kind of silly, but Frankie wouldn't sleep without it.

Thomas found himself instinctively grabbing two glasses and he froze. Was it already a habit to get one for Alexander? Wasn't it supposed to take two months for a habit to form? Alex had barely been staying with them for a week. This would be their first weekend together. Thomas's stomach flipped at the thought of being able to relax with Alexander and Frankie for two days while Alexander was off work. He wrote off his excitement as being desperate to interact with any human that was over a year old. It sucked sometimes to be missing out on time with friends and coworkers, but it's what Thomas signed up for. James had invited him to go clubbing more than a few times since Frankie was born, but Thomas wasn't ready. And he wasn't ready to leave Frankie with a babysitter, either. The only time he had left her alone with somebody else was when his mother came to visit and insisted he take a day off. She paid for him to get a massage and lunch with a friend. Thomas invited Alexander, of course. Alex was working but he was able to join Thomas for lunch and they spent the whole hour talking about Frankie. Thomas had gone through his camera roll, playing endless videos of Frankie giggling and kicking her feet. She was only four months old at the time so she wasn't sitting up yet. The day she did sit up by herself for the first time, Thomas had texted Alexander a picture and about a hundred exclamation points. Alexander had demanded to facetime and see for himself.

Thomas's reverie was interrupted by Frankie's squeal of laughter as Alex charged down the hallway with her under his arm. Thomas grinned and carried the two cups into the living room, settling down on the couch in front of the TV.

"Food will be here in like thirty minutes." Thomas called out and Alexander whooped, swinging Frankie into the air gently. He made a noise like that of a beatboxing spaceship and pretended to land the Frankie-plane down on the couch next to Thomas. Frankie giggled uncontrollably, drool starting to drip from her mouth where she was gnawing on her finger. Thomas grinned and offered Alexander a glass. He took it and gulped half the drink down before standing up straight and heading to the kitchen. Thomas set his own glass down and steadied Frances where she was sitting on the couch. He pulled her into his lap and leaned back, propping his feet on the coffee table. He leaned his head back on the couch to try and see Alexander.

"What are you doing?" Thomas inquired.

"Making a bottle for Frankie, you see her trying to eat her hand? I think she's tired." Thomas's heart squeezed tighter on the next beat. Alexander knew Frankie's quirks - had Thomas ever told him about the finger thing? Maybe in passing, but the fact that Alexander remembered..

"I don't know, I actually think she might be teething." Thomas replied absentmindedly, then snapped to attention at the sound of the microwave beeping. "Hey! No bottles in the microwave! Put a mug of water in for a minute or two then put her bottle in the water and it'll warm up."

"How is that any better?!" Alexander whined impatiently.

"I don't know but I feel like the effort makes it okay. Like, try a little harder and it'll be a little less radioactive."

"You're nuts." huffed Alexander as he stuck a mug of water in the microwave.

"Say 'radioactive', Frankie!" Thomas enthused, holding Frances so she was standing on his legs and facing him. She grinned around her finger and remained silent. Thomas made a face. "How come she listens so well to you?" Alexander hummed and popped the bottle into the mug then carried it over to the couch.

"I don't know. I think she just knows it's me. We're buds, aren't we, Frank?" Alexander cooed, setting the mug on the coffee table then tickling Frankie's belly. Thomas fixed him with a hard look.

"Call my daughter that again and you'll never see her again." He said lowly and Alex's eyes glinted as he smiled at the baby.

"Papa should have picked a less gender neutral name if he had a problem with boy names." Alexander said in a sing song voice and Frankie immediately echoed, "Papa, papa!" Thomas sighed.

"It's not the boy part I have a problem with, it's the fact that Frank sounds like the first name of someone who owns a confederate flag and smokes in his truck with the windows rolled up. The name Frances is way more dignified, isn't it, my love?" Thomas replied, smiling when Frankie babbled and grabbed his nose. "Alex, can you turn something on Netflix?" Alexander grabbed for the Xbox controller.

"What do you want to watch?"

"Isn't Chronicles of Narnia on there?" Alexander screeched and made Frances jump.

"What?!" He half yelled, "Are you serious?!"

"I think so! Put it on!" Alexander screamed again and started tapping his foot furiously. He was suddenly bouncing with energy. Almost as soon as he found the movie and started it, there was a knock on the door. Alex jumped up and bolted to the door, making quick conversation with the delivery person.

"Sorry, the doorbell's broken, but it's a good thing cus we need the baby to sleep and I'm afraid if we get it fixed she'd wake up every time the doorbell rang. Anyway, thanks, have a good night!" Alexander rambled on but Thomas was stuck on how Alex knew the doorbell was broken and - we need the baby to sleep? When did they become a unit? Thomas didn't have to think about it for long because Alexander was at his side again with an armful of noodles and rice and two plates in his hand. Alex set everything on the table and Thomas moved his feet to the floor. Thomas shook the warm bottle for Frankie while Alexander divided the food into huge portions on their plates that neither of them would be able to finish and both of them would regret later. Thomas settled Frances in the crook of his elbow with the bottle and used his other hand to shovel scalding fried rice into his mouth. Alexander ate with equal enthusiasm and when they were both done, he turned the lights off then took a sleeping Frances from Thomas. Thomas paused the movie and cleared the coffee table while Alex laid Frankie down in her crib and when they both sat down on the couch again at the exact same time, Thomas couldn't help but think it was a little domestic.

 

Thomas woke up to the familiar sound of Frankie crying. She normally woke up around two in the morning for a bottle and then slept until 8 am. Thomas and Alexander were both in his bed with six inches of space between them. 'Leave room for Jesus.' Alex had joked with a wink on that first night. Thomas respectfully kept to his side of the bed and they slept facing away from each other for the past six nights. Thomas started to roll out of bed to feed the baby when Alex put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Go back to sleep, I'll go." He mumbled and Thomas rolled onto his back, staring up at the flushed face of his friend.

"You sure?" Thomas whispered and Alex nodded.

"I miss her and you get up every night, I can go this time." Thomas cleared the sleep from his throat and ignored how Alexander's hand was still warm on his arm.

"Bring her in here?" He asked quietly. Alexander nodded again and shuffled off the bed. A few minutes later, he was back with Frances, who was halfway through her bottle and already asleep again. Alex set her down in the middle of the bed and Thomas turned on his side to face her. Alexander got back under the covers and propped his head up on one elbow. He stared lovingly at Frankie and Thomas felt his heart yank in a way that almost brought tears to his eyes. He was so thankful for friends who loved his daughter. Alexander held the bottle with one hand as Frances ate in her sleep, then carefully twisted it out of her mouth without waking her. Thomas would have to remember that move. Alex reached behind him to toss the empty bottle on the nightstand, then, finally, met Thomas's gaze. Alexander smiled and Thomas thought he should smile back, then realized he was already grinning in the first place. He pulled the blanket up to his chest and leaned over to press a kiss to Frankie's cheek. When he leaned back, Alexander went to kiss her other cheek. Frankie snored delicately and flexed her fingers.

"Man, I love her." Alexander voiced Thomas's thoughts out loud and Thomas forced himself to stop staring at Frances for long enough to appreciate the look on Alexander's face.

"Me too." Thomas whispered before laying his head down on the pillow, still on his side facing Alex and Frankie. His eyes were getting heavy again. He only had to blink a few times before falling back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	3. beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they go to the beach and eat ice cream and pretend not to be ogling each other's naked bodies. also frankie is there and she eats ice cream and is extremely cute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any mistakes or inconsistency!! i'm beyond tired and i wrote this out of order (beginning then end then middle) soo that's never good afklg also i'm the master at run on sentences and alexander fuckin hamilton would be proud
> 
> i love babies and i wanted to show you guys what frankie's hairstyle was meant to be so i found some reference pictures! if you already imagine frankie a certain way, i suggest you don't look at these so you don't spoil how you think of her, but if you need a visual or mental reference, here are two babies resembling her and about the same age as she is in this chapter:
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/56/51/8b/56518b068e9782e3c1ecb968660523b7.jpg
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/be/da/64/beda64f14a512342553b1599fad007f6.jpg
> 
> and here is how alexander fixes frankie's hair in this chapter (minus the bow):
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/99/17/8c/99178c7aa8c119facd73fc595c4fc6df.jpg
> 
> enjoy!
> 
> MILD TRIGGER WARNING: there is semi-serious mention of self harm/potential suicide, it's one line of dialogue and if you are triggered by comments like that, skip the slightly long paragraph below "BUT, if anything happens to Frankie,"

**SATURDAY**

Thomas's plans for a relaxing day at home were, to his dismay, overthrown by Alexander as soon as he woke up. He was awakened by a weight on his chest and Thomas opened his eyes to see Frances sitting on top of him, dressed in a frilly, one-piece swimsuit. It was the kind of bright, vibrant pink that hurt his eyes to look at and it was lined with bright orange lace. It was absolutely horrendous. Thomas cringed and his eyes followed the hands holding Frankie up to a body that was very much completely naked.

"Alexander, what the hell?" Thomas exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at the toothy grin Alex was giving him. "Why are you naked?! And why is my child wearing a traffic cone?!" Frankie startled at the pitch of his voice and her gummy smile turned into a grimace around her finger. Tears started welling in her eyes and Thomas sighed. "I'm sorry, Frances, I'm sorry for scaring you." He had to use a tremendous amount of effort to speak calmly. "And I'm sorry for this monstrosity of a man thinking it's okay to dress you like a Dr Seuss character." Thomas glared at Alexander, whose grin never faltered, and sat up to wrap his arms around Frankie.

"First of all," Alex began, releasing Frankie to Thomas, "I'm wearing shorts. And second of all, this outfit is guaranteed to be the most visible out at sea! Sue me for trying to keep my baby girl safe!" Thomas eyed Alexander suspiciously.

"What do you mean, out at sea?"

Alexander threw his arms open wide and bellowed, "We're going to the beach!" Thomas fixed him with a look that any full time parent would be proud of.

"It'll be freezing."

"She has long sleeves."

"It's too far."

"Only 45 minutes on the train."

"It's too expensive."

"I have a coupon, it'll only be five dollars roundtrip for the three of us."

"She won't remember it."

"Thomas, come on, you take her to baby swim classes, she loves the water! She might not remember but we will. And I'll get tons of cute pictures! The ladies love babies and oceans!"

"Alex, you're gay."

"Yeah, but my mom would like to see pictures, she loves Frankie."

"Frances."

"Franklin."

Thomas sighed long and hard. He thought about laying back down with Frankie and just going back to sleep. Alexander could go to the beach by himself. But then, he realized if he fell back asleep, Alex would probably just take Frankie and go to the beach without him. Hamilton's steel will was a force to be reckoned with. He made a great lawyer, after all.

"Fine. We'll go to the damn beach, but-"

"Watch your fucking language around my baby."

"BUT, if anything happens to Frankie, you have to live with the knowledge that I tried to stop you."

"Frances. And believe me," Alexander leaned in close to Thomas's face, his eyes getting wide and his smile disappearing into a much more serious expression, "if anything were to happen to Frankie on my watch, I would drown myself before you ever got the chance to kick my ass." And that should be a much darker statement, but Thomas was preoccupied, gulping his heart back down his throat and trying not to desperately inhale Alex's breath as it fanned across his face. Something flickered in Alexander's eyes as he studied Thomas. As fast as it was there, it was gone. Alex leaned back to stand up straight again and reached for Frankie. Thomas let him take her.

"We'll be getting our shoes on, I already have a bag packed with towels, diapers, and sunscreen, I got a waterproof case for my phone, you have a pair of swim trunks on the nightstand and I put a hairtie in case you want to do something with yourself. Your hair is a mess when you get out of bed." Thomas gaped and stammered as Alexander exited the bedroom, shutting the door behind him and Frankie. Good lord. Thomas was in too deep. He reluctantly got out of bed and shed his pajama pants and boxers, trying not to cringe too much as he put on the bright red swimtrunks Alexander had apparently purchased at an unknown time during the past week. They fit perfectly, tight around the hips and loose on his thighs. Thomas admired himself in the mirror on his dresser and wondered if Alexander had consulted Hercules on styles and fittings. It was a mystery how Alexander had gotten his size exactly right, but almost everything about Alexander left people more confused than they were before interacting with him. Thomas pulled on a loose shirt, slipped the hairtie on his wrist, and grabbed a hoodie in case it got really cold out while they were gone.

When Thomas emerged from the bedroom, Alexander had already put on a shirt and somehow got both of Frankie's blue sneakers on her feet. He'd also kept true to his word and wrangled Frankie's black curls into two adorable little puffs of hair. Thomas almost squealed upon seeing her, he settled for snatching her out of Alexander's hands to nuzzle his face in her cheek, much to her delight. Frankie squeaked with laughter and Alexander smiled so huge his cheeks hurt. Thomas kissed Frankie's cheek and propped her on his hip, tossing his hoodie in the bag Alexander was carrying. He slipped his own shoes on and they left the house.

They arrived at the beach after noon and the sun was warm on Thomas's bare back. He'd shed the shirt, claiming he needed to get some sunshine and the sun made his skin glow anyway, but a small part of him also wanted to show off for Alexander. Thomas had a rockin' bod but he'd gotten slightly out of shape after Frances came. It was easy to be lazy when your time is spent laying around with a newborn, but now that Frankie was six months old, he had gotten more in shape. What with swim classes, park walks, and having to haul a twenty five pound weight along everywhere. Thomas even started letting Frankie stay at the gym childcare and he would get in a few laps in the pool or a few miles on the treadmill. So he could afford to show off a bit, and it was worth it to see Alexander looking a little starry-eyed when Thomas had to bend over to pick up his wallet. He had been trying to pay for ice cream for the three of them and just _happened_ to drop his wallet. If he made a show of bending down to get it, well, the only witnesses were the ice cream guy and Alex. The crowds of people walking around them paid no attention, but Thomas could see the flush in Alexander's cheeks after he stood up straight. Thomas took the bowl of ice cream from the vender and thanked him. He and Alexander found a table with a good view of the ocean and sat down. Thomas conveniently only got one spoon so they had to share. They took turns eating the strawberry ice cream and giving Frankie tiny bites, which she slurped from the spoon then immediately got brain freeze and made a face. Alexander thought this was hilarious, he giggled hysterically and set Frankie down on the table - with Thomas's hand behind her back to make sure she wouldn't fall - to grab his phone. He pulled up the camera app and started a video.

"Thomas, has Frankie ever had ice cream before?" Alexander questioned, pointing the phone at his face. Thomas grinned good-naturedly and shrugged. 

"Not before today, I think." Alexander laughed at nothing in particular and pointed the camera at Frankie.

"Frances, you want Dada to give you a bite?" Frankie blinked at the phone and went, "Dadada?" Alexander held up the spoon and gave her another bite. She ate it off the spoon then smacked her lips and shuddered. Alexander's laugh heightened in pitch and volume and soon, Thomas joined in. Alex just kept giving Frankie tiny bites of the ice cream and she would fall for it every time. After a few more bites, Thomas stopped Alexander.

"Alright, no more, she'll never trust food again." He chuckled and Alexander huffed. He turned the phone around to capture his own face.

"Frankie, your Papa is not any fun." He said to the camera.

"What are you doing?" Thomas asked and Alexander turned the camera back around.

"This is for Frankie when she's old and gray so she can remember how hot I was back in the good ole days." Thomas quirked one eyebrow and stared into the lens of the phone.

"Yeah, right." Thomas said flatly but he couldn't stop his smile when Alexander stammered helplessly. Alex ended the video and pocketed his phone. 

"I'm done eating, I want to go to the water now!" Alexander said petulantly. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Who's the child here, again?" He said, standing up with Frankie and tossing their empty bowl in the trash. Alexander shouldered their bag and pointed a thumb at himself.

"Me. I'm the child. Now, let's go!" Thomas chuckled as Alexander turned and jogged down the steps to the sand.

The water was slightly cold but the mid-day breeze was colder. Thomas and Alexander took turns sitting with the bag and taking Frances to the edge of the water. She splashed around happily and a couple times, tried to put her finger in her mouth, only to spit it back out because the water made it taste salty. Thomas took a few pictures of Alexander and Frankie in the water with his own phone for memory's sake. Alexander took at least a hundred pictures of Thomas and Frankie, the water, the sunshine, the birds, a tiny seashell he found, the list was endless. Anything remotely interesting called for a photograph. At one point, Alexander brought Frankie to where Thomas was lounging on the warm sand and handed her over.

"I want to go deeper in the water." He said, pulling his hair out of the loose bun it had been in to twist it into a long braid. Thomas had to catch his breath for a moment - a shirtless, dripping wet Alexander whose muscles were flexing as he fixed his hair. It was a little much. Not to mention how rays from the sun fanned out from behind Alexander, silhouetting him and shining through the frizzy, black wisps of hair that were too windblown to fit in his braid. The curls made a nice halo around Alexander's flushed face, Thomas thought. Before he could gather his thoughts enough to respond, Alex was running back to the water and throwing himself in. Thomas watched as Alexander went deeper and deeper, sometimes diving under the water and emerging with a handful of sand. After a few minutes, he seemed to achieve whatever it was he was trying to do, and Alex came splashing back out of the water and up to Thomas. He held out a fist and opened it to proudly present a large swirled seashell in the palm of his hand. Thomas wasn't sure what the big deal was, but he oohed in that patient way parents do when they pretend their kids has done something interesting. Alexander tapped his foot and held his hand out for another second and then - the shell was moving. Thomas watched as two grey claws appeared at the hole in the seashell and then two tiny beaded eyes. Thomas gasped.

"Frankie, look! It's a hermit crab!" He said, picking Frankie up and holding her close so she could see. She didn't really understand what was happening, but she showed a small amount of interest. Frankie tried to grab the shell and Alexander quickly moved his hand away before she could get pinched. Thomas pulled out his phone and got a couple good pictures, then Alexander released the animal back into the wild.

After another couple of hours sunning on the beach, the sun hit the water line and dusk started to fall. Thomas convinced Alexander it was time to go home. They both toweled off and pulled shirts on before changing Frankie's diaper and dressing her in a dry onesie Alexander packed.

The train ride back from the beach was surprisingly quiet. Frankie was silent the whole time, happily drooling around the finger that never seemed to leave her mouth. Thomas couldn't believe she wasn't asleep. Alexander sat close to Thomas, their legs and shoulders were touching. Thomas was a little nervous - he'd taken Frances on trains before, but it was always a little nervewracking at night. You never know what kind of people are in the carriage with you and on top of that, there's the fear of something startling off your baby and being forced to sit with a wailing infant for an hour. Alexander seemed to sense Thomas's discomfort. About halfway through the ride, he slung his arm over Thomas's shoulder and scooted closer to whisper in his ear.

"Be cool about it but I'm about ninety nine percent sure there's a Johnny Depp lookalike to your left. Across the aisle, like five feet down." Thomas snickered and casually looked over the line of people sitting across from them. The guy in question looked about thirty and did slightly resemble Johnny Depp, but..

"He looks more like John Mayer to me." Thomas whispered back just as softly. Alex huffed out a laugh at this.

"John Mayer looks exactly like Johnny fuckin Depp!" He whispered furiously. Thomas muffled a giggle and turned Frankie around in his lap to face them as a distraction.

"Frances Luella!" Thomas sang in a quiet voice. Frankie's eyes squinted with the effort of her smile. "Say Papa, Frances!" Thomas whispered. Frankie giggled and tried to grab his face with her slobbery hand. Alexander cackled.

"Frankie! Say Dada, Frankie!" Alexander said and Frankie, ever the people pleaser, obliged.

"Dada! Dada!" She cooed and Alexander clutched his chest dramatically with the hand that wasn't massaging circles into Thomas's shoulder.

"Oh, my little girl! They grow up so fast, don't they?" He directed the question to an elderly lady sitting directly across from them who was watching with interest. She smiled kindly and nodded.

"They sure do! You two make just the cutest couple, you know." She said, "Reminds me of me and my husband when our girls were little. Do you want to have another?" She motioned to Frankie and before Thomas could correct her, Alexander was steamrolling over him with a fountain of words.

"Oh, yes! We love kids, don't we, hun?" Alex said, squeezing his arm around Thomas. "If we could have kids the old fashioned way, we'd have hundreds by now, wouldn't we, love?" He said, making exaggerated doe eyes at Thomas. Thomas choked on air and tried to interrupt, but Alexander was having none of it. "She's just a doll, she's the perfect baby, our Francine!"

"Frances!" Thomas desperately managed to get in. Frankie gave him a concerned look at the mention of her full name in such a tone.

"Couldn't quite agree on her first name, though." Alexander stage whispered to the old lady. Thomas groaned and slouched back in his seat. Alex rubbed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I hate you." Thomas whispered and Alex just tittered out a high pitched laugh.

"Aww, hun, I love you too!" Frankie, clearly having spent too much time with Alexander over the past week and not one to be left out, babbled her agreement. Her noises finally took the attention off of Thomas, Alexander got distracted having fake conversations with the baby and forgot the act he was putting on for the old lady.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in the next chapter they have interviews at different daycares for frankie when thomas goes back to work so look out for that!!! apparently this is going to be multiple chapters i give up on trying to limit how long this is. the story writes itself
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	4. daycare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thomas thinks real hard about some serious stuff and alex is always ready to fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a gosh darn miracle you guys i can't stop writing!! i wrote this whole chapter in like less than two hours this morning. and i feel like i could keep going! i have church in a few hours so i probably won't upload again today but it's possible there'll be another chapter tomorrow.

**SUNDAY**

The old lady on the train was the first person to mistake them for a couple but she would be far from the last. Alexander had set up interviews - without permission - with two daycares in the district surrounding Thomas's house. Thomas didn't even know daycares were open on Sundays. He was also slightly concerned because, didn't they have to have information about the child to set up an interview? Like, birthdate, social security number, that kind of stuff? Thomas might have to hide their important documents in a better spot. Despite Thomas's protests, Alexander was determined to be there for every interview. They bickered about it on the subway to the first daycare center.

"I don't know about this, Alexander."

"It'll be fine. This one has five stars and tons of good reviews. The price isn't bad, either. Trust me, I looked for the absolute safest daycares in all of New York. And, I mean, nothing's going to happen to the kid of a government worker and a lawyer. They'd be in deep shit if I ever found out about any wrongdoing." Alexander finished firmly.

"I'm sure she appreciates that. But that's not what I mean. Why do we have to go together? You're only off on the weekends, don't you want to rest?"

"I have to go for your moral support. And," Alexander's face twisted slightly, "I just want to make sure she'll be okay." He cast a longing look at the baby passed out on Thomas's arm and Thomas gulped. He suddenly wanted to say, 'She's not yours to look after. I can handle it.' and had the urge to curl Frankie closer to his chest. She was his baby, she didn't belong to the world. Thomas had the right to keep her to himself for at least a few years, didn't he? He resisted the temptation to hide her away from Alexander. Logically, he knew the man was coming from a place of love. If anyone had a strong sense of protection, it was Hamilton. But didn't he trust Thomas to find a good daycare for his own child? Thomas was at a loss on how to handle this situation. Did parents usually have friends enter their lives and try to take over raising their children? Probably not, he thought, but then again, not too many single parents lived with their friends. How many of them shared all the responsibilities of being a parent with someone who wasn't their significant other?

On the one hand, it was really nice to have a companion for the past week. Having someone else around to save Frankie from sticking her finger in an outlet, to put her to bed so Thomas could work on his computer, to smash bananas and peas and then rinse all the dishes without being asked. Was it wrong of him to allow Alexander to do those things? It made such a difference, though, even after just a week. Thomas found himself feeling more relaxed and having more patience with Frances throughout the day. On the weekdays, he looked forward to Alexander coming home all day. Even at baby classes, he still found himself thinking about Alex. Thomas would wonder what the man was doing at that very moment. Usually, when he was distracted like that, he would pull out his phone to send a picture of Frankie to Alexander. And usually, Alexander would have already texted him, "How's ASL going?" or "Don't let the baby go underwater plz she's not a fish" - to which Thomas always replied with a picture of Frankie going underwater because she had been in swim classes for a month and babies had a natural instinct to hold their breath so she was totally comfortable underwater. Alex would freak out, as was _his_ natural instinct.

Thomas smiled at the memories still fresh in his mind. Did he not want that for the next few months? Constant support and companionship? Why was he afraid of somebody else being a vital part of his daughter's life? Thomas realized, maybe it wasn't how he felt, maybe his reaction came from a fear of the outside world. He didn't consider himself to have a fear of rejection, but there was a standard for family life and something that was considered normal and Thomas would be lying if he said that didn't intimidate him. There was already nothing 'normal' about him and Frankie, Thomas reminded himself, he was a single man who paid for a surrogate. And he would never regret the decision to have a child on his own but it definitely went against societal norms.

Thomas almost scowled at himself. What an old fashioned way of thinking that had been ingrained in him. Society might put pressure on him to be The Parent but there was nothing wrong with a willing friend putting active effort into loving and raising your child. Thomas's heart leapt at that thought and he hoped beyond hope that Alexander would be in this for the long run. He prayed that Alexander was still in their lives, even if they weren't living together, when Frankie was older. It would be amazing to have someone with him on her first birthday and her first day of Kindergarten, someone to celebrate her getting potty trained and losing teeth. Alexander would be the only one who understood the weight of Frankie growing up. Thomas determined, without a doubt, that it definitely was an outside opinion that had been worrying him. Of course he wanted Alexander to be a part of Frankie's life; Alexander loved her as much as Thomas loved him. Or, wait, he loved her as much as Thomas loved Frankie. Yeah. What?

Thomas glanced at Alexander, who was oblivious to his lengthy internal debate. As soon as Thomas rejoined the real world, the bus came to a stop and Alexander turned to face Thomas. The corner of his mouth raised in half a smile at the blank look on Thomas's face.

"Earth to Thomas, this is our stop." Thomas blinked and cleared his throat. He stood up and hoisted Frankie up to lay on his shoulder as he followed Alexander off the bus. Alex led them to a brightly colored building and held the door open for Thomas to enter. There was a desk in the foyer with a short, middle aged woman sitting at a computer. Thomas and Alexander approached her and she glanced up. She caught sight of Thomas first, with Frankie in tow, and smiled. Then her gaze traveled over to Alexander, standing close to Thomas's side, and her face fell for a split second. Someone less perceptive might not have even noticed. She quickly schooled her face back into a less convincing smile and Thomas glanced at Alexander nervously. Alexander kept his stare on the woman but threaded his arm under Thomas's elbow and held on. The lady looked back at the computer and Alexander cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, m'am, we have an interview at 10:30 am. For Frances?" The lady looked back as if seeing him for the first time and nodded quickly.

"Sure, sure. You can take a seat over there," she nodded to a line of chairs across the room, "and someone will be out in a minute to see you. They'll call your name when they're ready for you." She said dismissively and Alexander pursed his lips. He guided Thomas by the arm and sat them down without letting go. Thomas took a deep breath and Alexander absentmindedly rubbed his thumb on Thomas's forearm as if he were reassuring Frankie. After a few minutes of Alexander impatiently bouncing his leg, a woman dressed in a tight fitting pantsuit entered the lobby.

"Frances?" She called out and Thomas thought it was very .. businesslike. They stood up and followed the lady's clicking heels down the hallway. She led them into a room somewhat resembling a classroom with no toys in sight. Only when they sit down across from her did she finally look up and seem to register their faces.

"Oh. Hello, gentlemen. I'm Mrs. Miller. And this is Frances?" Mrs. Miller questioned, gesturing to the baby still asleep on Thomas's shoulder. Thomas nodded and for once, Alexander let him speak.

"Yes, she usually takes a nap about this time, do you want me to wake her up?" Thomas said and Mrs. Miller shook her head no.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. Does she get along well with other kids?" Thomas shrugged.

"Yeah, we go to ASL and swim classes and she loves it."

"I see. No history of anything like biting, hitting, anything like that?" Thomas frowned and Alex squeezed his arm.

"No, I mean, she's only seven months old. Do babies bite at seven months?" He wondered out loud. Mrs Miller ignored him.

"Is there a family history of any learning disabilities?"

"Excuse me?" This time, Alexander was the one to answer. "What difference does it make? She's not even a year old yet!" His voice changed pitch halfway through the sentence and Thomas nudged his knee against Alex's in a warning.

"Not that I know of. But it wouldn't make a difference if she had any kind of disability. We love her exactly how she is." Thomas said fiercely. The lady eyed him from above the rim of her annoying glasses. Alexander wanted to make a remark about how being judgmental was the most crippling disability of all, but he bit his tongue. This was about Frankie.

"Okay. Thanks for coming today. I think I've made a decision." Mrs. Miller said, shuffling her papers. Thomas raised his eyebrows.

"Well?" he prompted.

"I'm sorry, sir, I just don't think you're the right fit for our center." Thomas gaped at her. He and Alexander, as if part of some hive mind, stood up at the same time. Alexander released Thomas's arm to cross his own arms in front of his chest like he did when he was about to lay into someone. Thomas took a small step back.

"Frankie's not the right fit or _we_ aren't the right fit?" Alexander demanded and Mrs. Miller straightened her back.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Alexander tapped his foot on the ground sharply as he continued.

"Don't think I don't see the way you look at us. I think your decision was made as soon as your receptionist saw me and Thomas! You're homophobic." He spat and Mrs. Miller gasped and put a hand on her chest, but before she could continue, Alex was raging on. "You don't have a single good reason that Frankie shouldn't be allowed to come here. She's a good kid and she doesn't cause any problems. You have plenty of open spaces, I asked, so I know you have room for her. Now I see why so many people withdrew their kids, you guys have a bias here! No gays allowed, is that it? This is New York, baby, and I'm a lawyer so I'll see your ass in COURT." Alexander finished with a shout and a harsh stomp of his foot on the floor. Thomas could see he needed to take pity on Mrs. Miller's sorry ass. He shifted Frankie so he could hold her with one arm and grabbed Alexander with the other hand.

"Thanks for having us, we'll just be going now!" Thomas said, forcing a smile. He tugged on Alexander's arm and had to drag him down the hallway. Alexander grumbled and flailed uselessly and only halfheartedly - he didn't want anything to happen to Frankie during the struggle but he would be damned if he ever went down without a fight. Alex was red-faced and angry by the time they made it to the front door and he flipped off the receptionist as Thomas dragged him outside.

They made it back onto the bus, luckily the next place was only a few stops down.  
They rode in silence for the most part; Alexander was still slowing down his breathing from his fit of fury. After a few minutes of quiet, Thomas peered at Alexander's face to see him looking extremely downtrodden. He bit the inside of his cheek and sighed softly through his nose. Thomas placed a hand on Alexander's knee, which was bobbing up and down with the force of his foot tapping, and Alex stilled.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm glad we got that one over with. Now the standards are really low, right?" He teased and Alexander's face twitched into a hint of a smile.

When they reached the next stop, Alexander's hand looped back around Thomas's elbow and they squeezed through the bus doors together.

Their first impression of this daycare was way better, the receptionist greeted them with a broad smile and chattered away about how cute Frankie was. Thomas and Alexander thanked her at the same time and shared a laugh. This receptionist walked them past one classroom and into one where class was already in session. There were five or six babies in different areas of the room; one was asleep in a bouncer, one was jumping up and down in some circular contraption covered in toys, and the rest were sitting on a playmat on the floor. There was a lady with dark hair with them, one kid in her lap and another playing with the bracelets dangling from her arm.

"Angelica!" Alexander greeted warmly. He let go of Thomas to kneel on the floor and wrap his arms around the dark skinned woman beaming up at them. Thomas tried not to feel the spike of jealousy stabbing at his chest. He didn't have to worry for long, the hug only lasted a second and when Alexander pulled back, his attention was immediately directed at Thomas. He beckoned for Thomas to sit with them on the floor and he reluctantly complied.

"Angelica," Alexander repeated, "This is Thomas and Frankie."

"Frances." Thomas corrected out of sheer habit.

"Frances. Thomas is about to go back to work and I told him if he needs a daycare, there's nobody I trust more with kids than you." Angelica and Alexander shared a smile but before Thomas could react properly, Frankie was stretching on his lap in a way that meant she was waking up. He moved to sit more comfortably, with one leg outstretched, and placed Frankie on the floor. She rubbed her eyes blearily and stuck one finger in her mouth.

"Hi, Frances!" Angelica cooed and both Frankie and Thomas smiled at the use of her full name.

"Thomas," Alexander said, "This is my friend Angelica, I worked with her sister at the orphanage."

"Ohhh! Nice to meet you, Angelica." Thomas smiled and offered a hand. Angelica shook it and returned his smile.

"So, how old is Frances?"

"Seven months." Thomas and Alexander said at the same time. They made eye contact then both looked away sheepishly. Thomas felt his cheeks heat up. When he looked back at Angelica, she was watching him with a curious look on her face.

"That's perfect, all the babies I have right now are sitting up and crawling so she'll fit right in. Does she take a bottle, or..?"

"She does take a bottle but she's really interested in food so we've started giving her stuff like smashed bananas and various vegetables, like cooked carrots and peas, stuff like that. I don't want her tastes to be too sweet because I would like for her to eat vegetables without a fight when she's older." Thomas chuckled and Angelica nodded understandingly.

"Sure! So the only thing we ask is that you send her with a backpack labeled with her name and any formula and bottles labeled as well. If you want her to try and eat foods while she's here, we have to ask that you make it and send that in her backpack so we don't have any risk of feeding her something she's not supposed to have. I need a list of any allergies and medical conditions, but that'll be on the form you'll receive from Peggy. If you can get those filled out and returned to me tomorrow, she'll be good to start coming a week from today!"

"Wait, what? We're in?!" Thomas said, looking at Alexander. They grinned at each other and Angelica laughed.

"Yes, you're in! Any favor I can do for Alexander is well worth it. He's a good catch, you know." She said with a wink. Thomas could only smile in response as he stood Frankie up and held her facing him.

"You're in, Frankie! You did it! Daddy can go back to work!" He said and Frankie giggled.

"Say yay, Frankie!" Alexander clapped his hands and Frankie just grabbed at his fingers. Alexander turned to Angelica and said, "We're working on it."

"Well, you two can go get the paperwork from Peggy at the front desk and we'll be happy to see you soon!" Thomas thanked her over and over and this time, Alexander was the one dragging him out of the classroom. They retrieved the packet from the lady at the front desk and walked out with their arms linked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	5. swim class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> frankie graduates swim class!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so short but i needed to update!! i'm working on a jamilams story (with bonus trans!alex) but i haven't forgotten this! there might be a time skip after this chapter.... we'll see

**MONDAY**

Thomas realized the night before that Frankie had her swim class graduation on Monday so Alexander called in and got the day off. The graduation was at 10:30 am and since Alexander stayed home, Thomas got to sleep in. He woke up to the distant sound of singing and almost drifted back to sleep. Thomas got out of bed slowly and walked down the hallway. He paused for a minute to appreciate the sight in front of him - Alexander was dancing across his kitchen, twirling and singing a song that only he knew the words to.

"When you smile, I fall apart, and I thought I was sooo smart." Alex sung dramatically, albeit quietly. Frankie cackled hysterically from where she was sitting in her highchair. She was munching on squished banana and strawberries and her hair had been brushed out into an afro. Thomas felt his heart expand and he grinned. Frankie caught sight of him and squealed.

"Papa!" Alexander whirled around and met Thomas's eye with a smile.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Alex sung and Thomas huffed. He had the sudden urge to waltz in the kitchen, grab Alexander by the waist and kiss him. Thomas's pulse raced at the thought. If he and Alex were... romantic. Maybe that's what he would do. He settled for slinging an arm around Alexander's shoulder in a more casual gesture.

"Good morning, children." Thomas replied and Alexander leaned into his embrace, eyes black and shining. "What's the occasion?"

"Our little Frankie has her first graduation today!" Alex said in a rush, dragging Thomas to where Frances's high chair was. Frankie squealed at the attention, her eyes squinting in that endearing way Thomas's own eyes did. Alexander let out a dramatic fake sob. "Our baby! Next thing you know, she'll be graduating college!" He wailed before tucking his head into Thomas's shoulder. His declaration was loud and sudden, Thomas watched Frankie and was surprised when she didn't jump or flinch at all. He expected her to get scared like she normally would. Thomas furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey!" He shouted. Alexander jumped against his side and frowned up at him.

"Why did you have to ruin the bit, Thomas?" Alex demanded. Frankie looked at Thomas as if to ask, yeah, why did you ruin our fun?

"She didn't get scared." Thomas murmured. Alexander gave him a perplexed look and patted his arm mockingly.

"There, there." Alex said loftily. Thomas shook his head. How was Alexander changing their lives so much in such a short amount of time? He kissed Frankie's forehead and glanced at the clock. 

"I'm going to go shower, we have to leave for swim class in 30 minutes, so can you wipe her face off?" Alexander nodded.

 

At swim class, Alexander was glowing. Partially from the warm air in the YMCA pool room and partly with pride. He shook hands with every parent and cooed at every child. Thomas eventually reigned him in and shushed him.

"Class is about to start!" Indeed, the class leader was standing in front of the group of parents and babies with her hands raised.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Sarah, I led the baby beginner class for swim safety! I see some new faces in here, everyone's going to get a chance to see their baby in the water and you'll find out what they learned. First up, we have Hayden!" She went on, taking one baby in the water at a time and going through everything the babies learned. In a normal class, Thomas would be in the water with Frankie along with the other parents, but he supposed this was kind of like a test for each individual baby. Finally, Frankie's name was called and Alexander cheered loudly as Thomas handed her off to Sarah.

"Alright, Frances, we're going to practice kicking first." The instructor held Frankie's hands on a horizontal pole and Frankie kicked her feet out like she'd been taught. Alexander gasped next to Thomas and Thomas felt his chest puff up with pride. "Now," Sarah said after a minute of letting Frankie kick, "We'll do arms." She then held Frances around her stomach and allowed Frankie to circle her arms in the water instead of splashing. Thomas beamed and Alexander clapped to encourage her. "And now, you can see what we've taught the babies to do if they ever fall into the water." Sarah sat Frankie down on the edge of the pool. Frankie sat up straight to avoid falling in, she did perfectly until the instructor grabbed her foot and yanked so that Frankie's balance was jolted and she toppled into the pool. Alexander gasped and raced to the edge of the pool, ready to grab and pull her out. He watched as Frankie stayed underwater for the longest seconds of his life, then she was kicking one leg out and flipping over onto her back. Her face floated up above the water and she breathed in quick succession. She bobbed along the water and Sarah lifted her out after another minute.

"She could keep going for longer than that." Thomas's voice, smooth like molasses, sounded in Alexander's ear. Alex jumped. "She could do it for thirty minutes without getting tired. Normally, a baby could drown within two minutes of going under, but she can hold herself up long enough for someone to grab her and take her out of the water." Alexander let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Wow." He breathed and Thomas nodded. He took Frankie back from the instructor and wrapped her in a fluffy towel. "You did so good, Frances!" Alexander whispered, grabbing her hand and kissing it over and over until she was giggling. When the class was over, Thomas accepted the certificate Sarah handed him and got Frankie dressed in a onesie that said, 'Daddy's Girl'. Alexander took one look at it and laughed. "That's talking about me, right?" He asked Thomas. Thomas only smiled. They left the YMCA, took the paperwork to Frankie's new daycare, then headed home for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	6. ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRANKIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait between chapters! i hit writers block so hard even though i have the rest of this story planned out now. ;-; hopefully this makes up for it, almost 3k words and equally fluffy and emotional! 
> 
> i never really established a strong timeline for this fic mostly cus i expected it to be a oneshot so we're making one now bear with me lmao
> 
> so it goes, frankie's birthday (in early december), christmas (i probably wont go into too much detail sorry! i love christmas but i don't feel like writing a whole chapter focusing on it, i have plenty of christmas-y fic recs if you want that!) + new year's (#firstkiss), then we'll probably skip to the time before valentines day (which ill hopefully be done writing by actual valentines day) and i fully intend for one of the boys to be full on courting the other by then and not being subtle about it at all (so probably alex will do the courting). beach day was in july.
> 
> ALSO the pet name thing might seem unrealistic bUt i have a cute friend that calls me "baby" and "boo" etc etc in a way that is only 45% a joke and we're not in a relationship but it feels very much like we are so that's where im getting that from. if you're having a hard time reading in the right tone of voice, watch this video this is how i imagine them saying it:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSccxAxYVRg

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCES!"

A long banner with rainbow letters was strung across the living room wall when Thomas woke up and he wondered whether there would ever be a day he woke up before Alexander. Alex was busying himself in the kitchen when Thomas wondered in, bustling to and from the refrigerator, chopping vegetables and slicing fruit. Frankie was in on the chaos - if Alexander was in the kitchen, she was in her high chair - tasting various things Alex would hold up to her and if she looked disgusted after eating it, Alexander would throw it back in the fridge.

"Boo," Thomas addressed Alexander jokingly, "you know it's ten in the morning? The party doesn't start for another two hours." Alex barely glanced up at the pet name. Their new thing was calling each other "baby" or "booboo" in condescending tones. Really, it was just an excuse for Thomas to be verbally affectionate with Alexander while passing it off as a joke.

"I want to be prepared! It's not every day your little girl has her first birthday!" Alexander ended in a squeal. He glided to Frankie's highchair and pinched her chubby foot. She grinned, showing off the four teeth that all popped out during the most stressful week of Thomas's life. Frankie screamed so much she lost her voice and ran a fever of 100F for four days straight. Thomas dreaded the day her molars started coming in. But, holy crap, did Frances look absolutely adorable with teeth. She looked like something straight out of BabyGap or a Target advertisement. She had a precious little gummy space between her two top teeth and when she cheesed really hard, her chunky cheeks dimpled in a way that made Thomas melt. He couldn't have gotten a cuter baby, hands down. Everyone was smitten with her - Angelica raved to her sisters so much that Peggy had taken to complaining with Thomas via text. Thomas appreciated their new friendship, based solely on both Angelica and Alexander talking about Frankie nonstop. Not that anyone could blame them. Frankie was an angel. She was so chill and go-with-the-flow, she fit in perfectly between Thomas's calm lifestyle and Alexander's fast-paced rhythm.

Thomas half expected Frankie to have some kind of separation anxiety when he went back to work, but she was so social and friendly, she would wrestle in Thomas's arms when they walked into the daycare, trying to get free and go play with her friends. Frankie wasn't walking yet and Thomas thanked heaven above for that. He saw how rambunctious the kids at daycare got once they started walking and he wasn't looking forward to it. One baby tripped and hit his head four times in one day. Frankie's face was too cute to be covered in knots and bruises from running into corners and walls. In opposition to Thomas, Alexander couldn't wait for the day Frankie started walking. Much to Thomas's chagrin, Alex would hold her hands and encourage her to take steps every time Thomas left the room. Frankie would give him a look, all too knowing for a twelve month old, and refuse to comply. Alexander complained to Thomas endlessly about that.

"I'm so torn between wanting her to do what I want without question and being proud of her for standing up to authority." Alex would whine and Thomas would chuckle. He understood. They were raising a little girl who would be a woman someday and she needed to feel powerful.

"That's parenthood, buddy." Thomas would reply, rolling over in bed and pretending to fall asleep. Because that's where all of their deep conversations happened now - in bed. Usually the only time the two of them had to themselves was side-by-side, clad in thin pajama pants and smelling like toothpaste and face wash. Their routine hadn't changed much in the four months since Alexander moved in; Thomas would wake up and cook breakfast while Alexander got Frankie dressed and fixed her long, wild hair into puffs or braids. Alexander would get his mountain of papers shoved into his backpack and peck a kiss on Thomas's cheek, then Frankie's cheek, then he would grab his paper plate of eggs and rush out the door to make the train. Thomas worked in a different office than Alexander - Alex took up being a full time lawyer while Thomas still worked a seat in government. So, Thomas didn't have to rush as much in the morning. He would eat while Frankie ate, then he'd drop her off at daycare and get to his office before 9 am. Alexander tried to get to work by 7 in the morning, although he technically didn't have to be there until 8. Thomas found it amusing how Alexander was so married to his work.

By the time noon rolled around, Frankie was bathed and dressed in a plain white onesie with long sleeves. That was always Thomas's favorite outfit on her but he never got long to appreciate it before some kind of food or stain ruined the clean fabric. Of course, Alexander couldn't resist making his own contribution, so he pulled out some rainbow legwarmers - one of the presents he'd gotten her - and put them on the wriggling baby. The leggings got wrinkled instantly from Frankie crawling around on the carpet but Alex thought she looked perfect. As Alexander kneeled on the floor in front of Frankie, snapping pictures to send to his mom, a knock sounded at the front door.

"Baby! Door!" Alexander called absentmindedly. Thomas rolled his eyes and got up from his spot on the couch to let the guests in. Somehow, Peggy, Angelica, and Hercules all arrived at the same time. They squeezed through the door in a fit of giggles as all of them tried to go through at once. Thomas shook his head with a smile.

"We didn't even need to invite any of Frankie's friends to the party. We have a bunch of children right here!" He greeted Peggy with a hug that Herc quickly interrupted in order to wrap Thomas in a tight embrace. Meanwhile, Angelica scoffed and placed a delicate hand over her heart.

"Excuse me! I'm Frankie's friend! Isn't that right, darling?" She called to Frankie, who sat up on the floor and started babbling in response. Angelica giggled and Thomas threw an arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"How's your weekend been, Ang?" Alexander glanced up briefly at the two of them, then decided he'd used enough of his phone's storage space with pictures. He stood up and shuffled into the kitchen, Hercules on his tail.

"It's been good, thanks! Eliza should be here soon, by the way." Thomas nodded. His gaze followed Alexander around the kitchen, where Alex was pulling trays of fruits and vegetables out of the fridge and instructing Hercules on how to set the table. Angelica noticed Thomas watching Alexander and said quietly, "You got very lucky, finding someone like Alexander." Thomas nodded absentmindedly again, a small smile twisting his lips. He was very thankful for everything Alex did to make his and Frankie's lives better.

After another hour, all the guests had arrived. Hercules and Lafayette sat across from eat other at the dining room table, tossing grape halves into each other's mouths. Peggy was successfully sweet-talking one of the moms from Frankie's sign language classes while the mom in question blushed down at her plate of pretzels and hummus. Angelica and Eliza befriended two moms from Frankie's old swim class and they stood in a circle in the living room, each with a drink in one hand and a baby in the other. Eliza brought the only baby from the orphanage with her and one of the moms had twins so there was a total of six toddlers. Thomas was at home. His heart was full. A room full of babies and people who loved him and his daughter. Thomas started towards the girls in the living room when an arm caught him around the waist. Thomas lifted his arm instinctively and Alexander ducked under it, allowing Thomas's arm to rest across his shoulders. They walked in sync across the living room and joined the circle, none of their friends so much as even blinking. Alexander laid his cheek on Thomas's shoulder, wisps of his hair tickling Thomas's ear. Thomas's heart fluttered and his throat closed in a little bit. He pushed the feelings away - he and Alex had been very physically affectionate since Alexander moved in. Frankie was a very lovey baby; she loved to lay down on people, give cuddles and kisses. It was only natural that after four months of mutually cuddling the same baby, Alex and Thomas would be accustomed to physical affection. If Frankie had a grumpy day and didn't want to be affectionate, Thomas found himself missing the contact. That was probably why Alexander was cuddling him now - Eliza was holding Frankie and neither Thomas or Alex had gotten sufficient snuggles that day, being pre-occupied with preparing food and getting ready for the party.

They chatted with the ladies for a long while, gushing over how cute the babies were interacting with each other after four months apart. Eventually, Lafayette yelled Alexander's name from the table and Alex excused himself. All the babies were on the ground now, crawling around on the playmat across the living room. Frankie kept picking up toys and handing them to other babies, saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" She made the th- sound perfectly, which Thomas had never seen a one year old do before. He liked to think having two highly educated parents influenced her speech, but he knew they probably just got lucky. Thomas's attention was drawn from the kids on the floor when one of the moms from swim class said his name.

"So, Thomas! How long have you guys been dating?" Thomas blinked.

"Um, what?"

Angelica rolled her eyes and supplied helpfully, "You and Alex." The swim class mom, Evelyn, Thomas remembered, nodded in a way that made her hair bounce in its bob.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see any wedding rings so I just assumed. Are you married?" Evelyn asked and Thomas was lost on how to respond.

"No, we're not married. We've known each other for like, five years? Something like that." Thomas felt like that answer was too serious so he sarcastically tacks on, "Seems like forever, though." His sarcasm went over Evelyn's head and she awwed in response.

"You're too cute! When are you going to have another?" Thomas was saved from having to answer by two rough hands grabbing his bicep. Thomas looks at Alexander, who latched himself to Thomas's arm, pulling childishly and making a pouty face.

"Baaaaaby," Alexander whined, dragging out each syllable, "Herc and Laf ate all the cupcakes! I'm starving!" Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? You can wait ten more minutes for us to cut the cake." Alexander muttered under his breath and released Thomas's arm roughly.

"You're no help, you son of a-"

"Alex!"

"Sorry." He didn't sound very sorry. "Where's the baby? I need someone who will actually comfort me." Alexander glared at Thomas, but before Thomas could reply, Frankie spotted Alexander from across the room and loudly demanded, "Dada!" Alex turned instinctively as if she had said "Alexander".

Thomas noticed their friends eyeing Alexander as he crossed the room but Thomas wasn't even phased anymore. Frankie's been calling Alexander "Dada" for months and no one corrected her. Thomas told himself it was just a random sound she happened to pick up and it just happened to imply that Alex was her dad. No big deal. Before Alex moved in with them, Thomas called him "Alexander" when talking to Frances; she probably got the da sound there.

Thomas watched, affection blooming in his chest, as Alexander scooped Frankie up and balanced her on his hip easily, without even blinking. He'd done it a thousand times, why was Thomas just now noticing how seamlessly Alex took care of her? That thought led to Thomas thinking about Alexander being a father someday. Alexander would be an amazing dad. Thomas's stomach twisted as he imagined it. Alexander having a baby would mean he had a kid with someone else, which meant Alex would be in a relationship with someone else. Thomas didn't like the uneasy feeling in his gut as he pictured Alex standing at another man's side, holding another man's baby. It's not jealousy poisoning his heart, it just... doesn't feel right. As Alex rejoined the group of friends, Thomas almost told him he would make a great father someday, then decided against it. He didn't want Alexander feeling like he's not a father to Frankie. But. Wait. Alexander wasn't Frankie's father. So why did Thomas feel like he was? Thomas stopped thinking about it for a while.

Half an hour later, Frankie was taken out of her birthday outfit and sat in the high chair, wearing only a diaper. Thomas wasn't about to wash icing out of rainbow leggings, it would be bad enough trying to get the sugar out of her hair. Alexander went to the kitchen and retrieved a chocolate cake - "because she's brown and sweet!" Alex had insisted - while Thomas stared into Frankie's eyes and burned into his memory the way she stared back, her dark eyes striking and intense. She wouldn't be a baby forever and Thomas never wanted to forget. Thomas kissed her forehead and stood up straight as Alex brought the cake to Frankie's high chair. He set it down in front of her and the flickering candle lit up her face in golden tones. Alex was oddly quiet as he backed away slowly, in sharp contrast to how he'd been going at full speed all day, talking and bouncing around the room between guests like a ping pong ball. Frankie stared up at them questioningly, as if to say, what the heck am I supposed to do with this thing? Thomas chuckled.

"Ready?" Thomas addressed the room then started singing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Frances, happy birthday to you!" Cheers echoed around the room as Thomas and Alex leaned forward in sync to blow out Frankie's candle for her. Thomas grinned and stepped back to watch Frankie eat the cake. She shoved a hand in the icing and smeared it across her cheek in an effort to reach her mouth. Thomas felt a weight on his shoulder. It's Alex, of course it's Alex, snaking an arm around around his waist and pressing into his side and leaning his head on Thomas's chest. Thomas glanced down to see Alex staring at Frankie, eyes shining, like she's the center of his world. Thomas blinked back tears.

That night, after Frankie opened her presents and everybody went home, Thomas spent a good hour rocking her in the nursery. She'd fallen asleep long ago, almost as soon as Thomas sat down with her, but he couldn't bring himself to put her down. He counted her eyelashes up to a hundred and ran a hand through her hair, fresh and clean from the bath. If he stretched out the curls, her hair was a good six inches in length. When left alone, it curled tightly on top of her head and made her look angelic. Thomas couldn't believe how quickly the past year went by. It seemed like he brought her home from the hospital a week ago, tiny and wrinkled and angry at the world. Her personality developed strongly into something Thomas couldn't wait to reinforce as she grew up. Frances was in that tiny stage of life where she was just baby-ish enough to be considered a baby, but smart enough and big enough that Thomas looked at her sometimes and saw the kid she would be someday.

Alexander found Thomas half asleep in the rocking chair a few minutes later. He gently lifted Frankie off of Thomas's lap, kissed her forehead, and laid her down in the crib. Thomas was bleary-eyed when Alex looked back. Alexander smiled and offered a hand to Thomas, helping him up from the chair. Alex led Thomas to the bed and silently wiped the tears rolling down his cheeks. Alexander cupped Thomas's face in both hands and forced the man to look at him. Alex smiled and brushed his thumb against Thomas's cheekbone.

"Hey. It's alright. She's going to be such a great kid someday and I can't wait to see it, how about you?" Thomas sniffled but returned Alex's smile.

"Yeah. I love her so much."

"Me too. Do you.. need a hug?" When Thomas met Alexander's gaze, his eyes were wide and concerned. Thomas nodded and instantly, Alex's arms were around his neck. Thomas wrapped his own arms around Alexander's lean body and tucked his face in Alexander's neck. He let out a soft sob and Alex shushed him softly, running his hands comfortingly along Thomas's shoulders. Thomas held Alexander tighter and scooted back, pulling Alexander up on the bed with him. They sat facing each other, holding each other, until Thomas's breathing slowed down and he was almost asleep. Thomas whined as Alex laid him down on the pillow and pulled away to switch off the lamp. He held onto Alexander's arm until Alex relented and laid down next to him, settling against his side. Thomas buried his face in Alexander's hair and ignored the tiny part of his brain telling him, this is it. He'd broken the one rule, the one barrier associated with them sharing a bed. Thomas didn't care at all. He held Alexander even tighter and drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed!! i've been getting a lot of anons about this fic and if you have any headcanons, please send them in and when i answer your ask i'll gladly build off of them!! i just went on a lecture about how alex is a soccer mom and he's loud and embarrassing but everyone loves him.
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com/tagged/frankie


	7. christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex gets a call from his landlord and wakes thomas up on christmas morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready to be SAD. this chapter and the next are going to be full of emotions. I almost cried writing it cus i had to get so in character.
> 
> you guys asked and i listened! ive had multiple people ask for alex's perspective so this chapter and the next are going to be focusing on alex and his feelings. i meant to write new year's in this chapter too but i have to go somewhere right now and i want to upload soooo dhjghjfsh i might try to write all of the next chapter tonight if i can!

It was two days before Christmas when Alexander got the call. He and Thomas were in the middle of making gingerbread cookies while Frankie took a nap. They were both covered in nutmeg and flour and Alexander was giggling about how Thomas's gingerbread man looked like it had butt cheeks when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He wiped his hands on Thomas's shirt, sticking his tongue out when Thomas glared, and answered the phone without looking at the screen.

"Hello?"

"Alexander! It's Robert, how have you been?" Alex furrowed his eyebrows and held up a finger to excuse himself from the kitchen. He wandered into his and Thomas's room and closed the door gently.

"Robert, I'm good, thanks. What's going on?"

"Well, I'm calling to tell you the renovations are done on your apartment! You can move back in next week if you want. I look forward to having you back. Don't forget, your lease expires in March." Alex took a deep breath.

"I can move back in to the apartment?" It didn't feel right to say 'my apartment'. It wasn't his home anymore. "You want me to move in next week?"

"That would be great! As you know, New Years is right around the corner. Your rent has been waived for the past few months, but when January starts, I'll be expecting you to be moved in during the first week of January and to pay rent for that month on the 15th. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah." Alexander whispered, "Yeah, that's fine."

"Great! I'll talk to you later, Alexander." The landlord hung up without waiting for a response. Alex stood in silence for a minute. He looked around the bedroom, at the way it looked like he and Thomas had been living together for years. A framed picture of Alex and Frankie was on Thomas's nightstand, Alex's jacket was slung across the chair in the corner. Alexander's dirty socks were on the floor leading to the bathroom where he'd taken them off last night to shower. A basket of laundry sat on Alexander's side of the bed. He could see one of his shirts laying on top with a pair of Frankie's leggings. There was evidence of his existence everywhere. How could he just pack up and leave in less than seven days? Alexander had honestly forgotten that he used to live alone, he was so accustomed to being in Thomas and Frankie's lives every day. What would Frankie do without him? Alex knew Thomas was more than capable of being a single father, it's not like they were in a relationship anyway, but wouldn't Frankie miss Alexander? Alex couldn't bear to be away from her for a full day, how often would he see her after moving out? She wasn't walking yet, would Alexander miss her first steps? Tears blurred his vision and Alexander cleared his throat. It was fine, it would be fine, he didn't have to worry about it now. Alexander went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face before returning to the kitchen where Thomas was waiting.

"I had to put the cookies in without you, sorry." Alexander shrugged, ignoring the way Thomas inspected his face.

"It's fine."

"Are you alright?" Alexander nodded too quickly and cursed himself for being such an open book.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." He said shortly, and that would definitely make Thomas suspicious because when did Alex not have anything to say? When he was mad or upset, he could rant for hours about what was bothering him, but Alexander just couldn't tell Thomas this time. Not yet. He didn't want to ruin their Christmas with bad news. Well, not their Christmas, as in, them, together. Their separate Christmases. Whatever. Christ.

The following day was spent with the gang; Hercules and Lafayette met Alex and Thomas for lunch, then they went for ice cream with the Schuyler sisters and ended the day back at Thomas's house. After all their friends left, Alex pulled Frankie onto his lap and facetimed his mom. She lived too far for Alex to go visit but he'd sent presents to her through Amazon so she would have something to look forward to on Christmas. Frankie babbled as the phone rang and cheered when Alex's mom finally answered.

"Mama! ¿Que pasa? Mira, mira, tengo el bebe! Frankie, di 'hola Abuela'!" Frankie babbled and Alex's mom giggled.

"Hola, Frances! Ella es tan grande!" Alex chuckled.

"Si, ella tiene un año!" His mom gasped dramatically and they talked for a few more minutes about Frankie and work before the baby got too squirmy and Alex had to say goodbye. He threw his phone down on the couch and held Frankie up in the air.

"Frankie! Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"No, no, no." Frankie said in response and Alexander grinned.

"It's Christmas!" He said, making an exaggerated expression of surprise which Frankie copied, raising her eyebrows and dropping her mouth open to gasp. Alexander giggled and kissed her cheek before setting her down on the ground. Frankie stood without support for a good thirty seconds and Alex called for Thomas. "Thomas! Get in here, look at Frankie standing up by herself!" Thomas padded into the living room and smiled at Frankie.

"Wow! Great job, Frankie! Are you going to walk to Papa?" Thomas knelt on the ground a few feet away and held his arms out to Frankie, who took one step. Then two steps. Then took three more steps and stumbled into Thomas's arms. Alex gaped and met Thomas's shocked stare.

"Um, did she just WALK?" Alex squeaked and slid onto the floor where Frankie had previously been standing. "Frankie," He called as Thomas turned her around to face him, "can you walk to Dada? Come here, sweetheart!" Frankie reached out and Thomas let go of her. She stood by herself, then slowly started walking until she reached Alexander without falling once.

"Holy shit! She just walked!" Thomas practically shouted and Alexander squealed, squeezing Frankie in a hug and rocking her back and forth.

"Frankie, you did it! What a big girl! Thomas, take a video!" Thomas pulled out his phone and set it up on the couch to film them. They tried over and over and Frankie walked back and forth between them without falling three more times. Alexander laughed until his cheeks were red and then lunged across the living room to hug Thomas and Frankie at once.

"Merry fucking Christmas, dude!" Thomas laughed and reached for his phone, pointing it at Alexander.

"Can you explain to future Frankie why you think it's appropriate to use bad words around toddlers?" Alex huffed at Thomas, then grinned at the camera.

"Hi future Frankie, I think it's appropriate to use bad words around you because it makes me sound like a badass dad." Thomas groaned and Alexander winked at the phone. Thomas ended the video and shoved Alex playfully as he stood up.

"Alright, time for bed, little one." Thomas picked up Frankie and Alexander followed him into her bedroom.

After Thomas laid her down in the crib, Alex leaned down and stage whispered to her, "Santa's not real." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I don't think we're even going to do Santa." Alexander kissed Frankie's cheek and stuck his tongue out at Thomas.

"You ruin all the fun!"

"That's what dads are for!"

On Christmas morning, Alexander woke up at the asscrack of dawn and laid on top of Thomas, whispering, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas, it's Christmas." Until Thomas groaned and pushed him off the bed.

"Okay! I'm up. God, you're worse than the baby!" Alexander grinned and took off to get said baby out of her crib. Thomas sighed and rolled out of bed to follow him.

Thomas set up the phone camera in the living room and they took turns helping Frankie open presents. She got a blue tricycle, a ton of new books, an encyclopedia on law and justice (from Alex), a stuffed lion (also from Alex), and a set of wooden blocks. Thomas's big gift to her was a wooden train track with a magnetic train that ran automatically. With the way Alex's face lit up as they opened they present, Thomas got the feeling someone would be enjoying it even more than Frankie. When all Frankie's presents were opened, Alex pulled out their gifts from his mom and passed one to Thomas.

"Your mom got me something?"

"Of course!" Alex answered, ripping open his box. Thomas opened his and pulled out a purple knit sweater. He gasped as he ran the soft yarn between his fingers and Alexander grinned. Alex held up a similar green sweater and a tiny white knit jacket for Frankie.

"These are beautiful, Alex! Let me call her later and say thanks." Thomas said, yanking the sweater on over his shirt. Alexander made a noise of agreement and grabbed a box towards the back of the Christmas tree then handed it to Thomas.

"And this is for you." Thomas eyed him.

"From you?"

"From me." Thomas turned the rectangular box over in his hands twice before taking a deep breath and opening it. Inside was a silver chain necklace with a circular charm in the middle. On one side, it had a simple carved heart, and on the other side the letter "F" in a swirly font. Thomas swallowed and admired the way the necklace glinted in the light. Alexander leaned forward to inspect Thomas's face. His heart was pounding.

"Do you like it?" Alex whispered, shifting Frankie on his lap.

"Alexander, I love it. Thank you so much." Thomas leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Alexander's neck. Alex smiled and returned the hug. It lasted maybe a few seconds longer than normal and when Thomas finally pulled back, his eyes were red and damp. Alexander held his breath and pressed a kiss to Thomas's cheek. Thomas glanced down and smiled. There was a second where time stood still. They were both frozen, both still leaning forward and Alexander's heart was pounding strangely out of beat in his chest. Then Thomas was reaching for Frankie and Alexander was leaning back to let him take her and the moment was over. Thomas sniffled and cleared his throat.

"We got something for you, too. Didn't we, Frances?" Alexander raised an eyebrow as Thomas stood up and went to the kitchen, digging through a unused back cabinet until he found what he was looking for. Alex watched eagerly and held out his hand when Thomas offered him the envelope. Alexander eyed Thomas as he opened it. Thomas looked at his phone to make sure the camera was capturing both their faces when Alexander pulled out the contents of the package. The first thing Alex saw was a print of him, Thomas, and Frankie that Angelica had taken while they were eating ice cream the day before. Alex gasped and his gaze flickered up to Thomas, who was smiling.

"How did you get this so fast?!" Thomas shrugged. Alexander examined the picture. He remembered that moment, Thomas had just swallowed a bite of ice cream and Alex had been trying, unsuccessfully, to make ice cream come out of Thomas's nose. Alexander made a crude joke and relished in the way Thomas laughed, loud and unabashed. Thomas's nose and cheeks crinkled up and his head was thrown back in laughter. Alexander looked at his own face in the picture, the way his eyes were glued to Thomas's face and lit up with joy. He was grinning, teeth showing, and his cheeks were slightly flushed. Frankie was sitting in Alexander's lap, looking up at Thomas, with one hand buried in a cup of ice cream and the other hand pointing at her dad. She was laughing too, she usually laughed along with Thomas even if she didn't know what was funny. Her cheeks were dimpled and covered in ice cream and her eyes were crinkled up at the corners in a way that mirrored both Thomas and Alexander. Alexander gulped and felt his eyes burn with tears.

"I love it." He whispered and Thomas whispered back, "That's not it." Alexander blinked and made a confused face at Thomas, then unfolded the second paper in the envelope. It had another picture of Frankie at the top, smiling at the camera. On the second half of the page, it read, in Thomas's best handwriting, "Dear Alexander, will you be my Godfather? Love, Frankie." Alexander threw a hand over his mouth and dropped the paper. He looked up at Thomas, who was beaming at him, and took a few deep breaths.

"Thomas. Thomas, are you serious?" Alexander whispered, dropping his hand from his mouth and tucking some hair behind his ear nervously. Thomas nodded and a tear rolled down his own cheek.

"I'm serious. I love- Frankie loves you. You're a part of our family." Alexander grinned through his tears and wiped his face with both hands.

"Of course," he whispered, then repeated more fiercely, "of _course._ How could I say no? Let me see her, oh my gosh." Thomas passed Frankie to Alexander and Alex smiled at her confused face. "I love you, Frankie, I love you so much, doll." Thomas laughed and Alexander looked over Frankie's shoulder at him.

"It's not Christmas unless everybody's crying." Thomas joked and Alexander cackled.

"Merry Christmas, baby daddy."

"Merry Christmas, Alex."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CRY WITH ME
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.com


	8. new years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good luck

Alexander hired a babysitter on New Year's Eve so he and Thomas could go to Hercules' party - the party started at 10pm and Frankie's bedtime was at 8pm. The babysitter got to the house around nine, Alex let her in then went to the bedroom to finish getting dressed while Thomas nervously showed her around the kitchen. Alexander changed into a dark blue button up shirt with long sleeves and black skinny jeans. He struggled with the tie as he strolled back down the hallway to save the babysitter from Thomas's rambling.

"-if there's an emergency, call 911 first then me or Alex, if we don't answer, call Angelica and if she doesn't answer, call my mom and she'll be here in like thirty minutes." Thomas was saying as Alexander reentered the kitchen. Thomas turned around and sighed at the sight of Alexander wrestling his tie. He grabbed the tie from Alex's hands and smoothly knotted it around his neck, pulling it tight with ease. Alexander gulped. He shifted his gaze to the sitter, who was watching the exchange with a smile.

"You guys go have fun, I'll see you in a few hours." Alex smiled gratefully and grabbed Thomas's arm, pulling him towards the front door.

"Thanks so much, I'll text you when we're on our way back. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, we have Netflix and Hulu on the Xbox." Thomas stammered as Alex slipped his shoes on and dragged them through the door. Alexander locked it behind them and Thomas folded his arms across his chest.

"Where did you find this girl again?" He demanded. Alex smiled up at him from where he was tying his shoe.

"It's a friend of Peggy's, relax. She has all our numbers. It's only for a few hours. Come on." Alexander stood up straight and threw his arm over Thomas's shoulders. "Our uber will be here soon. I'm gonna get WASTED!" Alex ended the sentence with a scream and Thomas clapped a hand over his mouth to cut him off.

"Jesus, Alexander, let the whole neighborhood know we're terrible parents, why don't you?" Alexander grinned at being classified as a parent, then, in true Hamilton fashion, licked Thomas's hand until the other man gagged.

\--

When they arrived at Hercules' house, the party was already popping. Lafayette and John were making out on one couch, a disco ball was hung from the ceiling and reflecting shimmering lights across the room, and a Boyz 2 Men CD from 1994 was blasting so loud the floor vibrated. Thomas and Alexander shared a look as they walked in, then their faces broke out into grins at the same time. This party was the exactly what they needed to feel young again. Alexander released Thomas's shoulders to bounce across the room and into Hercules' lap. The larger man was sitting in a recliner across from John and Lafayette, shooting daggers at them with his eyes. Alexander rubbed his face on Herc's chin and whispered, "Wanna dance?"

Hercules sighed long and hard, then stood up, taking Alexander with him as if he weighed nothing. Hercules effortlessly tossed Alex over his shoulder and crossed the room, approaching Thomas.

"I believe I've found something that belongs to you." He said solemnly without putting Alexander down. Thomas grinned and reached up to smack Alex's thigh.

"Hey!" Alexander protested, kicking his legs and pounding his fists against Herc's back. "I'm just trying to help!" Hercules hummed and rolled his eyes, sharing an amused look with Thomas.

"You want a drink, Tommy?" Hercules inquired, gesturing towards a table in the dining room where Angelica and Eliza were huddled. Peggy was dancing in the living room with at least five women and a couple of guys - they were alternating between the macarena and the Cupid Shuffle. It wasn't going well, but from what Alexander could see from his perch on Hercules' back, everybody was laughing jovially and having a great time. Hercules set Alex down when they reached the drink table and Alex took a huge breath, his face flushing with the sudden return of circulation. Hercules slipped a cup into each of their hands and Alexander sniffed the drink cautiously.

"What is this?" He asked and Hercules leaned in menacingly before answering, "Magic."

Thomas eyed them as Alexander threw his head back and started chugging. Thomas cleared his throat to get Hercules' attention.

"What was it, really?"

"Vodka and lemonade. Cheers!" Hercules grinned and Thomas took a tentative sip. It tasted like lemonade and regrets. He chugged the drink almost as fast as Alexander.

A couple of hours into the party and Alexander was definitely buzzed. Buzzed as in, he was giggling at everything that came out of Thomas's mouth and he was suddenly starving. Alex considered going to the kitchen to find food, then realized his hand was shoved in a bag of chips already and there was a granola bar in his other hand. Oh, right. Alexander laughed at himself and tuned back in to whatever Thomas was saying.

"She literally fell down three times in an hour and I was like, dude, are you drunk? She's only a year old!" Thomas cackled at his own joke and Alexander laughed right along with him, only to be quickly distracted by movement to their right. John was laying on the couch, asleep, and Lafayette was trying to seduce Hercules by twerking. Hercules pretended not to be watching, but the redness on his cheeks said otherwise. The party guests Alexander was unfamiliar with had ceased their dancing in favor of watching the parade on TV. Alex looked at the TV and was surprised to see they only had a few minutes until the countdown. He nudged Thomas and pointed to the screen.

"Thomas, it's almost New Years! Merry Christmas!" Thomas giggled and patted Alexander's thigh, causing his skin to tingle and burn. Alex shifted and placed a hand over Thomas's, holding him there. They watched in unison as the timer went from five minutes, to three minutes, to two minutes. At one minute, Alexander leaned his head on Thomas's shoulder. He was getting tired, he wished this year would just hurry up and be over already so he could go home and sleep. No doubt Frankie would be up at 6am, ready to start the year off with a bowl of applesauce. Alexander smiled at the thought of Frankie. He missed her already. When the clock got down to thirty seconds, Thomas shrugged his shoulder to make Alexander sit up. Alex obeyed and sat up straight, releasing Thomas's hand to pump his fist in the air during the final countdown.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two!"

Two hands were grabbing Alexander's face roughly and yanking him to the side. Alexander went easily and parted his lips to ask what was going on, but before he could get the words out, Thomas's lips were on his and his teeth were making an impression on his bottom lip and Alexander gasped, his own hands flying up to grab Thomas's shoulders. Thomas's tongue moved fluidly into Alexander's mouth and Alex moaned. The scruff of Thomas's skin scraped his skin and Alexander was suddenly very, very sober. He gasped into the kiss and it was like that woke Thomas up; suddenly Thomas was pulling away and Alex wanted to pull him back more than anything in the world, but he was frozen and all they could do was stare at each other while everyone around them cheered the new year in. Finally, Alexander looked away from Thomas's coffee brown eyes and whispered:

"I'm moving."

Thomas blinked once, twice, then a third time before he answered.

"What?"

"I'm moving. I have to move in by next week. I'm sorry. I-" but Alexander couldn't finish because Thomas was shoving him away, cursing under his breath, and crossing the room before Alex could even stand up. "Thomas! Wait!" Alexander cried, standing up so suddenly it made him lightheaded and caused the bag of chips in his lap to spill on the floor. He stumbled uselessly across the room, tripping over legs and bodies and tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks. Alexander finally reached the front door as it slammed behind Thomas. He realized his shoes had left his feet somehow and he had to get his shoes on, damn it, where did his shoes go? Alexander began to panic as he looked around the room, finally spotting his black dress shoes in a corner. He jogged over and pulled them on, hopping back to the front door and throwing it open.

"Thomas!" Alex shouted, looking desperately up and down the street. He yanked Hercules' door shut as he stumbled down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. He caught sight of Thomas's curly hair twenty feet down the sidewalk, disappearing behind a yellow car door, and how had Thomas managed to find a cab so quick, what the fuck? Alexander waved desperately and ran down the street, but the car was already moving and it raced past him in a cloud of white exhaust. Alex panted and rested his hands on his knees, tears now streaming down his face.

"Damn it!" He yelled, standing back up and stomping his foot. He let out a wracked sob and threw his head back at the sky. "This is the worst year of my life!" Alexander screamed, loving the way his throat burned raw at the intensity of his volume. An answering call came from a few blocks down.

"It's only been five minutes, bro!" Alex groaned and wiped the tears off his face with his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, thanks, pal, I had no idea!" He stomped back to Hercules' house and slammed the door again, making a beeline for the drink table.


	9. the Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex moves out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy galentines/valentines day! it's still the 13th for me but it looks like this is going to be uploaded on the 14th according to ao3 time. this chapter is kindaaaa angsty but everything should be resolved in the next chapter so don't worry! sorry for this being so short im rly struggling w writers block and being busy and procrastinating just. pray for me. also like... no homo but herc/laf/john is the SHIT. also john/laf/alex. also the revset ot4 poly ship. WHATEVER i love the gays amen

Alexander woke up to the sound of soft music playing. He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Thomas, it's too early-"

"Not Thomas, mon petit."

Alex frowned and tried to open his eyes. A weight landed heavily on his stomach, causing him to yelp and swat at the offending object defensively. Pain pounded in his temple as he sat up and looked around, only to find himself face-to-face with Lafayette.

"Laf? What are you doing here?" Alex's brain finally registered the living room around him as Hercules'. Ah, so he spent the night on the couch. That was strange. "What am _I_ doing here?" Alexander whispered, fumbling for his phone. Three missed calls and a dozen missed texts, all from Angelica, save for one call from his mom and one text from Thomas. Thomas...

"Oh, shit." Alex cursed, tensing underneath Laf, "Ohhhhhhh shit. I fucked up. I fucked up so hard, Laf, what am I going to do, oh my god." Alexander whined, flailing his arms and dropping back down on the couch. Lafayette chuckled from above him in a way that did not provide any comfort or reassurance.

"Oui. You done messed up. But I'm doing great!" Alex glared at Lafayette, who grinned and leaned down to peck a kiss on Alexander's nose. Alex pushed him away and stuck out his lip in a pout.

"I hate that you don't get hungover. I hate that I'm hungover. I think I'm going to be sick. What did Thomas say? Oh, god, I can't read it. Read it to me, Laf." Alexander draped an arm over his eyes dramatically and thrust the phone into Lafayette's waiting hands.

"Dear Alexander, you repeat yourself a lot when you're upset, you smell bad, also I never want to see you again."

"What?!" Alex shrieked, whipping the phone out of Lafayette's hand to look for himself. "It doesn't say that!" Lafayette cackled and rocked back and forth (painfully) on Alex's stomach. Alexander ignored him and read the text himself.

"Frankie and I are out of the house visiting my mom. Feel free to come by and get your stuff. Won't be back until tomorrow." Alex sighed heavily.

"That's it. He hates me. I'm doomed."

"Mon ami, he just needs some space. Give it some time." Lafayette said gently, reaching down to run his fingers through Alexander's matted hair. "Now, go shower and pop some pills. You look terrible. I'll get Herc and John up. We'll all go together to get your stuff."

"Okay. Thanks, Laf."

Alex took his time in the shower, reveling in the comfort of being in another friend's space. All of Hercules' soap smelled like coconut - a nice change to the baby shampoo smell Alexander had grown accustomed to over the past few months. The thought of baby soap made him think of Frankie and Alex's chest squeezed uncomfortably. He swallowed and tried not to think about the situation - which was difficult, despite Alexander's impeccable self-control (yeah, right) and legendary determination. The text from Thomas was devastating enough. It was so.. closed off and cold. Unfriendly. Annoyingly neutral. Alexander didn't know what he wanted from Thomas. Did he want him to be mad? To leave dozens of angry voicemails like Angelica? Did Alex expect Thomas to just be like, oh, okay, cool dude, just drop everything and abandon me and my daughter, no big deal man. Alex huffed in the steam of the shower and shook his head, causing water droplets to splatter across the tile wall. Of course he expected a negative reaction; that's why he waited so long to say anything in the first place. And why was it a big deal, anyway? Alexander was only supposed to stay with Thomas for a few weeks, they both knew this wasn't a permanent arrangement. They weren't even together (Alex ignored the pang in his chest), so why did this feel like a break up?

Alexander scrubbed his hair and body, letting the hot water pound on his back until his headache was gone and his skin was numb. When Alex finally got out, he wrapped himself in one of Hercules' bath robes - he practically drowned in it, jesus, was Herc a giant? - and piled his hair in a towel on top of his head. Hercules and John were waiting in the living room when Alex reappeared, looking disheveled and as annoyed as Alexander felt when Lafayette woke him up. John fixed Alex with an exasperated stare and Alexander had to stifle a laugh. His ears tuned in to the distant sound of Lafayette singing in the kitchen. Alex tiptoed in and grinned at the sight of his friend dancing around the kitchen, shoveling crepes onto plates with a kind of gusto that might even compare to Alexander's. Alex leaned against the doorframe leading into the kitchen and watched the scene with mirthful giggles bubbling in his chest. When Lafayette finally caught sight of Alexander, he cursed in french and let out a fast-paced string of words:

"Vous stupide homme, aller s'habiller, nous devons quitter, dépêchez-vous! Your food is going to get cold!"

Then Lafayette lunged at Alex with a dish towel, ready to smack him, so Alexander ducked out of the way and raced back to Hercules' bedroom, giggling like a madman. Alex was slightly out of breath by the time he reached the bedroom. He dug through Herc's drawers for one of the spare outfits he, Laf, and John kept there. They spent enough time at each other's houses that it was logical to have extra clothes laying around. Alexander finally found a shirt and sweatpants, which he pulled on quickly, then rejoined everybody for breakfast. When everyone had eaten, and John and Hercules looked more alive, they piled into Hercules' car and made the drive to Thomas's house.

Alexander walked up the sidewalk and to the front door, one hand already pulling his keys out of his pocket and automatically finding the right one from pure muscle memory. Alex felt his friends watching as he turned the knob and shoved the door with his shoulder; it started needing an extra push to open about two months ago. Alexander took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of home. It smelled like Frankie's laundry, this special lavender baby detergent they had to use, and Thomas's cologne. Oh, man. Alex swallowed the knot in his throat and walked further in so the gang could come inside. He folded his arms across his chest and surveyed the living room. They had a lot of work to do.

Four hours, two trips to the store, one trip to Smoothie King, and way too many snack breaks later and most of Alexander's stuff was packed. He didn't have too much to begin with, but he'd accumulated a lot of things since moving in with Thomas. For example, the #1 DAD mug Thomas got him as an early Christmas present and endless pairs of shoes because apparently Thomas's sister had a steady job at a shoe store and Thomas got discounts. Alex insisted that they tidy up the house as they collected his belongings. It seemed like a small payment for the immense debt he owed Thomas but it made him feel a little better about leaving, imagining Thomas being happy to come home to a clean house. John and Hercules were helpful, offering hugs and kind words when Alexander got a distant look in his eyes after looking at a picture of him and Thomas or after picking up one of Frankie's toys. Lafayette, on the other hand, was his normal pain-in-the-ass self, but his constant jokes and light tone kept Alex in a fairly good mood. The trio helped Alexander go through the whole house from top to bottom; every closet, bathroom, and bedroom was devoid of any sign of Alex's presence. The kitchen and living room were spotless. Alexander had an internal battle over which pictures to take - the framed one he'd gotten for Christmas was definitely coming with him, the one of he and Frankie at the beach could stay on Thomas's nightstand. Alexander felt like leaving that picture was more selfish than taking it. He wanted Thomas to remember him, to be thinking about him when he laid down to go to bed. There was another picture of Alex and Frankie hanging in the hallway and Alexander took that one. It was more of a close up than the other and if he couldn't have the real baby, he wanted to be able to see her face before he left the apartment every morning.

It was getting close to sunset when they finally finished packing. They shoved everything in Hercules' trunk and backseat, Lafayette and John each holding boxes on their laps, and drove to meet the landlord at Alexander's apartment. By the time the boys finished moving all of Alexander's stuff back in, it was sunset. Alexander's furniture was still in storage but he had a bit of money to blow so it didn't take much bribery to get Herc, John, and Laf in on moving furniture the next day. However, that meant Alex didn't have a bed or mattress in his apartment. Hercules offered to let Alexander stay another night, but he refused.

"I want to spend one more night at the house, anyway." He persisted, despite the look Hercules was giving him.

"Mon ami," Lafayette began, taking Alex by the arm, "just promise me you'll leave before Thomas gets home tomorrow. I know you want to see him but it's not time yet." Alexander couldn't argue with the pleading look in Laf's eyes and he knew the french man was right. Thomas didn't exactly make it clear that he was even welcome to stay another night. Alex nodded his agreement and kissed all three of them on the cheeks when Hercules dropped him off at the house.

Before he got out of the car, he whispered in Herc's ear, "Take them back to your place, you guys need to get rid of all this sexual tension, it's literally driving me insane. I think I have a phantom boner from all the pining going on between you three." When Alexander pulled back, Hercules was staring straight with a vivid blush on his cheeks, biting back a smile and his hands tense on the steering wheel. Alexander shot him a saucy wink and got out of the car. Hopefully, they would get that situation figured out tonight, Alex was tired of getting texts from all of them talking about each other and being utterly clueless to the fact that _all three of them_ wanted to be in a poly relationship. Honestly.

When Alexander finally settled down under the sheets of their bed- whoops, _Thomas's_ bed, he switched his and Thomas's pillow and dozed off with the smell of lavender and sandalwood soothing his aching heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no homo but i watched hamilton twice last night


	10. lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thomas and alex reunite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm posting this in case i don't get enough written for another chapter today! i'm going to keep writing so we'll see if i update again tonight. i'm going out of town tomorrow evening and coming back the 20th so there -might- not be an update during that time even though i will try to keep writing and hopefully keep my 1k a day goal.

They lasted almost two weeks. Alex buried himself in his work and ignored the cold silence of his apartment. He lit candles to keep him company and kept the tv on while he worked every evening but it wasn't the same. Thomas almost broke after five days when Frankie was up every two hours one night, sweating and crying. The next day, she'd broken two more bottom teeth and Thomas called in sick so he could stay home and snuggle her swollen face. After that night, Thomas didn't feel the urge to call or text Alexander ten times a day, but when he got home from the office, the house was too quiet. Too calm. Even with Frankie talking to herself and toddling around the house with her toys, Thomas felt lonely.

Even Frankie seemed to feel the loss; she was talking less (most of her conversations were with Alexander, she would say some nonsense and Alex would respond as if they were chatting friends) and she'd taken a new interest in Thomas's phone. Every time she saw it in his hand, she would go to grab it and try to tap the screen. Thomas knew she thought he was talking to Alexander. There was a time when the only way Frankie could communicate with Alex was through phone calls. She wouldn't go to bed without her stuffed lion and stuffed llama - though, most nights, she ended up in Thomas's bed anyway. He found it hard to sleep without somebody next to him. Some mornings, he would roll over and kick out his legs to wake Alexander, only to get tangled in cold sheets as a harsh reminder that Alex wasn't sharing a bed with him anymore.

Aside from the emotional toll his absence was taking on Frankie and Thomas - it was pretty inconvenient to not have another person tidying up after Frankie and fixing meals. The first weekend after Alex moved out, Thomas almost went bored out of his mind, sitting in the house with Frances all day. He eventually called Hercules and they met up at the park for the last few hours of daylight. Thomas liked Hercules and enjoyed his company, maybe even more than he enjoyed hanging out with John or Lafayette. When Thomas needed to be cheered up, Lafayette was good, but when Thomas needed to sit quietly in someone else's presence, or to just talk and have someone listen, Hercules was the man for the job. This particular instance, however, Hercules raved on and on about how he, John, and Lafayette finally worked out their needs and decided to be together. Thomas was happy for them, really, but the last thing his broken heart needed was to hear about other people's love stories.

Oh, yeah, that was something else Thomas came to terms with after Alexander moved. He loved Alexander. Like, really loved him. Thomas could survive without Alex but if he had a choice, they would be spending every day together for the rest of their lives. It was both easy and hard to love Alex while being out of contact with him - it was easy because Thomas wasn't constantly reminded of the things Alex did that drove him crazy, like not washing pots and pans as soon as he was done using them, or like putting the wrong amount of bleach in a load of laundry and ruining a set of towels. It was hard because Thomas knew what he was missing out on. He knew Alexander's face when he just woke up, sleepy and content. He knew the way Alex laughed when Frankie did something delightful like kiss his cheek, he knew how Alex looked after a weekend of not shaving; with just a little bit of scruff on the sides of his face. Thomas could still smell Alexander on his own clothing, on shirts that Alex wore and forgot to wash, and on their blankets. Thomas's blankets. Fuck.

This distant pining came to a head almost two weeks after New Year's. Future Thomas would look back someday and laugh at himself - they couldn't go without seeing each other for two weeks!? What a couple of losers. Present day Thomas didn't have as much self control. It was kind of shocking that Alexander somehow managed not to text Thomas first; some of Alexander's strongest traits were being outspoken and out of control. Thomas supposed his pride might get in the way and make him hold his tongue.

It was a Wednesday morning when Thomas finally broke and sent a text to Alexander.

"Lunch?"

He anxiously flipped the phone over and over in his hands for a full thirty seconds before he got a reply.

"Yes. Meet me @ 11:30am" And then an address Thomas was familiar with - it was the building Alexander worked in. Thomas pursed his lips to keep from smiling and tried to focus on his work, unsuccessfully, for the next two hours. If he showed up five minutes early to Alexander's office, well.

Thomas walked down a hallway towards the cafeteria. He knew the layout of this building well; he'd gotten lunch with Alexander here plenty of times while they lived together. Thomas found their regular booth and waited, his stare burning holes through the double doors across the room. Thomas saw Alex before Alex saw him. He burst through the double doors like a whirlwind, hair a wild, black mess around his head and shirt sleeves rolled up haphazardly above his elbows. Alexander automatically started towards the booth he and Thomas usually shared, clutching a brown bag under one arm and pushing his glasses up with the other hand. Thomas felt himself start to sweat - what should he expect from this? He didn't have time to come up with an answer before Alexander was sliding into the booth across from him, his teeth gleaming in the dim cafeteria light. Thomas returned his smile and gestured to the bag.

"What's this?" Alexander raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses with one knuckle. Thomas's heart flip flopped in his chest.

"Lunch." Alex answered and Thomas could feel his gut clench at Alexander's voice - low, rough and ragged, almost sleepy. Alexander reached in the bag and pulled out two bowls, passing one to Thomas. He gasped upon opening the lid.

"Mediterranean?! Oh my god, you're my hero!" Thomas inhaled the scent of hummus and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Alexander was moving his glasses on top of his head and grinning even wider than before.

"Don't mention it, I was kind of craving it, to be honest." Thomas chuckled and tried not to stare at the purple bruises under Alex's eyes - an obvious indication that the man was not getting enough sleep. Thomas tried to be subtle in his attempt to get more information.

"So, what have you been working on?" He inquired lightly, pretending to focus on opening his silverware packet. Of course, this opened the floodgates for Alexander.

"Oh, Thomas, you would love it! I'm working on a new school program to present in a few weeks. I think I have a new system completely worked out for how History is taught. See, most kids get bored and don't pay attention in class, big surprise there, but I think I have a way to keep History and Social Studies educating AND entertaining." Thomas hummed around a bite of spinach, nodding along as Alexander babbled. Eventually, Alexander got to a topic that Thomas could attribute to, and they conversated back and forth easily for the better part of the lunch hour. Thomas's alarm went off way too soon and he found himself frowning at his phone.

"Man, I have to get back. This was really fun." He glanced up at Alexander and memorized the way Alex blinked slowly - the gears turning in his head, almost visible through his eyes.

"Same time next week?" Alexander said, just a little bit too loud, and Thomas swallowed. What was he doing?

"Same time next week." He repeated back to Alex with a smile. He collected their trash and dumped it in the brown bag, saluting Alexander in a way that made both of them giggle as he slipped out of the booth and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send me your headcanons! i won't have wifi out of town but i will check tumblr occasionally.


	11. daydreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex thinks about valentine's day and thomas needs a babysitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, read the end notes please!!!

The next few weeks passed in the same way; Alexander and Thomas exchanging texts daily and meeting for lunch each Wednesday. They finally returned to some semblance of normal. Alex formed a routine on his own and Thomas figured out how to manage being a single father working full time. It wasn't what they wanted, but it was good enough for the time being. As January came to a close and February began, Alexander found himself thinking about Valentine's Day more than he ever had - it had never been an important holiday for him, but this year he longed for someone to spend it with.

He caught himself daydreaming frequently at work, twirling a pencil around his middle finger and imagining what kind of dates he would take his imaginary significant other on. Maybe they would sit at the lake just before sunset, watching the last light of the day cast highlights across the water. Maybe he would make nice dinner reservations and wear his best cologne and brush his hair and then feel silly when it ended up getting yanked out of his meticulous ponytail later that night. Maybe they would go for a stroll in the park and laugh at the kids on the playground, shoulders bumping as they weaved through rambunctious toddlers on the sidewalk. Alex would offer to push the stroller, it wouldn't be heavy because Frankie wanted to play on the playground, she would wave at them from the top of the slide and Thomas would sling an arm around his shoulder and hold up- since when was this fantasy about Thomas? The pencil stilled between Alexander's fingers then dropped to his desk with a light tap. Alex sighed through his teeth and leaned back in his chair, rubbing both hands over his face. 

Okay, so, maybe he had a crush on Thomas. It wasn't a big deal. As far as prospective boyfriends go, Thomas was his best option and that's probably why Alex could imagine them together so easily. Just because Thomas had enchanting eyes and soft skin and a giant smile, that didn't mean Alexander was, like, in love with him or anything. Definitely not. Alex could recognize Thomas as an extremely attractive individual and move on with his life. Except, Thomas's beautiful face didn't explain why Alex's heart beat faster every time his phone buzzed with a new text, or why his stomach flipped when Thomas called. So what if Thomas had a sweet, syrupy voice that felt like honey dripping down Alexander's spine when he drawled sentences of nonsense to make Alex giggle? Those were just traits that anyone would find attractive. Alex took a deep breath and flopped down on his desk. But most people probably wouldn't find Thomas attracted when he was in an old shirt covered in sweat and rotten baby formula. Most people wouldn't look at the guy with tangled hair and bags under his eyes and teeth that hadn't been brushed in days because babies are fucking demanding, damn it, and feel their hearts drop to their knees.

Alex blinked at his blank computer screen as a terrifying thought crossed his mind - what if he was just into dads? What if he was THAT guy, drooling over men with babies like it was some kind of fetish? Alexander tried to imagine other men instead of Thomas wearing a baby sling and shaking a bottle with one hand. Angelo, from accounting? No. Walker, from the bookstore? Ew, god, no. Way too white hipster for Alex's taste. He imagined someone who looked more like Thomas, maybe the guy with a nice wide smile and dark skin that always flirted with Alexander at the bus stop. Alex imagined that guy holding a dirty diaper and almost gagged. He definitely didn't have a daddy kink, then. He was running out of explanations.

Just then, Alexander's work phone began ringing from the corner of his desk and he was forced to forget the exploration of his sexuality until a later time.

A later time turned out to be the next Friday, when Thomas called as Alexander was packing up to leave work and explained in a frantic voice that his babysitter had a family emergency but Thomas had a business meeting that night and-

"Slow down." Alexander soothed, pacing the length of his office and listening to Thomas's heavy breathing from across the line. "What's happening?"

"This is weird, right? This is definitely really weird. I'm sorry. I have no choice, I really need help, can you come over tonight and watch Frankie for a few hours so I can go to this dinner? It's really important, we're supposed to talk this potential donor into helping with this new project and, I guess I could ask Hercules or someone else but you already know Frankie's routine and I don't have to explain anything, I have to hurry and it would just-"

Alexander shushed Thomas and cut him off, "Thomas, it's okay, of course I can come over. What time?" Alex glanced at his watch. He started staying late at the office again after moving out so it was almost 6:30pm.

"As soon as possible?" Alex balanced the phone against his ear with his shoulder and continued shoving things in his bag.

"No problem, be there in like, fifteen, twenty minutes?"

Thomas breathed out a sigh of relief and his voice was laced with such gratefulness, it made Alexander's chest tighten. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how much that helps me."

Alex chuckled, "It's fine. You can buy lunch next week." Thomas let out a breathy laugh at that.

"Deal. See you soon. Lo- Later. See you later. Bye!" The phone went silent and Alexander pocketed it in favor of hoisting his bag over his shoulder and pointedly not reading into Thomas's stammering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i was out of town and i didn't write a single word and it was kind of freeing but now i'm trying to get back into the swing of things but im also SUPER HELLA SICK coughing and runny nose and all that horrible stuff so thank u in advance for your patience with my slow/short updates. the next chapter will probably just be frankie and alex being cute. this story is reaching a climax which you don't know about but you will soon so just gET EXCITED AND KEEP SENDING ME HEADCANONS I HAVE GOTTEN SOME GOOD ONES AND I LOVE THEM ALL
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com/tagged/frankie


	12. thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "alex can you please not make my daughter a protester before she's two years old"  
> "hey you're never too young to be a revolutionary"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know i promised cute alex and frankie in this chapter but,,,,, the story ran away from me okay and i needed to establish thomas's feelings more u feel? so have 1.5k more of internal monologue. don't worry, we'll get back to actual writing and action soon!!!! this story isn't over and will probably have another 5 chapters? who knows! i am still sick unfortunately but feeling a LOT better than i was last week, thank god. i no longer have a fever and i can breathe through my nose again. i think i might start trying to update on specific days? like, every sunday or something? i hate leaving you guys feeling like you don't know when you're going to get more!!!!

Frankie was screaming. She was shrieking so loud, Thomas was sure the walls were rattling. He was surprised none of their dishes shattered yet. She wasn't throwing a tantrum - for once - no, the reason for her volume and intensity was all Thomas's fault. He'd opened the front door and let some raggedy, oily, mess of a man into their house. Alexander walked in, said, "Hey, Frankster!" and Frankie's head whipped around so fast Thomas almost called a priest. Her face contorted and she screeched, stumbling to her feet and toddling across the room as fast as she possibly could. Her voice echoed to the ceiling, an endless mantra of "DADADADADADADADA" accompanied by Alex's lighthearted giggles.

Thomas swallowed hard as he watched Alexander scoop Frankie off the floor and bury his head in her hair. Frankie was crying, now, so overwhelmed with emotions Thomas didn't even know she could feel. She knotted a hand in Alexander's hair and kicked her legs, sticking a finger from the other hand in her mouth. Alexander laughed tearfully and squeezed her in a hug. He spun around in a circle then paused to make eye contact and grin at Thomas. Thomas blinked and belatedly smiled back. He watched their reunion with his heart on his sleeve. He'd come to terms with his feelings about Alexander months ago, maybe even around Frankie's birthday. He'd gone through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Denial came early on and lasted for way too long. Thomas probably should have caught on when he and Alexander gotten mistaken as a couple a thousand times, but he continued to deny it right up until Christmas. He couldn't remember how it happened, there wasn't a moment where everything clicked and he went "oh, it's you." - Thomas liked to think something grew inside him, like a garden. And every time he would wake up to Alexander's sleepy smile, every time Alexander's voice cracked on a song lyric he sang too loud, every time Alexander rolled his eyes or tripped over the diaper bag or kissed Frankie's cheek, a little raincloud appeared beneath his ribs and watered the flowers of his affection until they were flourishing.

The next step was anger. That one might be obvious. Sometime between Frankie's birthday and New Years, Thomas began to get more comfortable with the thought of being in an actual relationship with Alexander. He didn't know how he was going to act on that until it happened - the night of December 31st, with Alexander a little bit drunk and Thomas a little bit more drunk. Thomas didn't have a plan that night. He didn't show up at Hercules' party with Alex on his arm - looking suspiciously like they were on a date - expecting a kiss at midnight. Thomas didn't feel like he could blame it on the alcohol, though. He knew his limits and being buzzed might lead to him feeling loose and silly, but he was still of sound enough mind to make rational decisions.

So, it happened. He kissed Alexander. And Alexander kissed him back. Then, Alex dropped a fucking bomb on him, turned Thomas's heart garden into glass and shattered it. When Alex said he was moving, Thomas took it as a rejection, even though he knew there wasn't yet anything for Alexander to reject. However it happened and however it made Thomas feel, that night sparked his anger and left him furious at the world. He was angry with himself for putting his feelings out there and for running away. He thought of Frankie, his daughter, the person he was raising in this hellish world. She could be in the same situation someday, and how would he want her to react? Having a child brought a whole new perspective into his life. What sucked the most? The one person who fully understood how Thomas was feeling and what he was going through was the same person who pissed Thomas off in the first place.

So, Thomas was angry. He spent a day with his mother, picking real flowers from her garden and teaching Frances how to smell them. They chopped fresh carrots and small potatoes for a stew (which, the phrase "small potatoes" definitely didn't get Thomas thinking about Alexander. definitely not.) and took Frankie down to the lake to see the ducks and watch the sunset. Multiple times during the day, Frankie would do something cute and Thomas would instinctively reach for his phone to snap a picture to send to Alex before catching himself.

The day at his mom's gave Thomas time to get distracted. He tried not to think about how Alexander was probably at his house, tearing shit up in a tiny tornady of fury, and how Alex would probably never stay at his place again after the next week.

Bargaining and depression came and went hand in hand. Thomas reasoned with himself that this was the plan all along; Alexander was never supposed to be a permanant fixture in his life. They both knew from day one that the situation was temporary. Thomas tried to heal his own heart with deals made of things that brought no real satisfaction. He told himself he didn't need Alex, there were plenty of men and women in the world and he could find someone else. Someone who wasn't so argumentative and who didn't have a knack for mistaking dish soap as dishwasher fluid. Someone who wouldn't try and teach his daughter to chant, 'no means no!' and 'freedom for America!' and 'the future is female!'. ("Alex, can you please not make my daughter a protester before she's two years old?" "Hey, you're never too young to be a revolutionary!")

Finally, acceptance. Thomas asked Alexander if they could have lunch together and Alex accepted. They met for lunch once a week and went back to daily texting. Thomas decided he would take whatever he could get from Alex - even if they weren't technically dating, as long as Alexander was willing, Thomas would just. Go ahead and date him. Alex didn't seem to realize the implications of their weekly lunches, even when they played footie under the table until Alex got too eager and socked Thomas in the shin. There was one day they couldn't stop throwing stuff, they aimed grape halves at each others mouths and Alexander laughed so hard he almost threw up at the way Thomas's hair bounced when he jerked forward to catch the grapes. They folded paper napkins into triangles and flicked them back and forth across the table, earning glares from the janitors meandering around the cafeteria. Of course, Thomas never intended to leave a mess, he was a gentlemen. Instead, he and Alexander had a rock-paper-scissors battle over who would do the cleaning. When Thomas won, he reveled in the way Alex's face turned dark red when he had to kneel on the floor in front of Thomas to reach the trash under the table. Alex cursed his short legs and Thomas thanked god for them.

Calling Alexander last minute to watch Frances wasn't a part of the plan, either, but apparently fate had surprises for all of them. Thomas's babysitter called thirty minutes before she was supposed to come over and said in a rush that she had an emergency and wouldn't be able to come. Thomas, of course, was understanding and kind and said if he could do anything to help, she should let him know. That left Thomas with a business deal he couldn't get out of and not a whole lot of options. Alexander, as always, came through and showed up right before Thomas needed to leave.

Thomas almost wished he could cancel that dinner after all. Alex and Frankie reunited like old friends and all he wanted was to curl up on the couch with them and listen to Alexander read nursery rhymes. Alexander, being himself, always got tired of the same boring words, so he would often abandon the book in favor of freestyling some kind of new version to a beat that only existed in his head. He used wacky voices for all the animal characters and made Thomas and Frankie laugh until their sides hurt. Alas, work was calling and Thomas told himself there would be another chance for him to spend time with Alex - a far cry from what he told himself weeks earlier, when he thought Alexander would never come to his house again. 

Thomas kissed Frankie's cheek, kissed Alexander's cheek (just for old times' sake), pulled on his shoes and waved as he walked out the front door.


	13. homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex plays with frankie and feels homesick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY this is subject to change but here we go: i think i'm going to start updating every sunday and wednesday as long as my schedule allows. i am estimating another 4 - 5 chapters after this one but again, who knows. i also don't know yet if the rating is going to change but i want to hear what you guys think about that? i think this story would be sweet and fluffy and perfect without any kind of sex scene but if i get an overwhelming response in the comments that you guys want it..... we'll see asljhkgkn

As soon as Thomas walked out the door, Alexander turned his full attention to Frankie, ignoring the blush staining his cheek where Thomas's lips left a damp spot. Frankie was waving goodbye at the door and babbling nonsense. Alex smiled and took Frankie to her bedroom to pick out pajamas. It was already nearing seven thirty, but he intended to spend some extra time catching up with her before putting her to bed. Alexander sat Frankie down on the rocking chair - where she started rocking immediately back and forth - and sat on the floor to rummage through her drawers until he found the old onesie that read "Daddy's Little Girl". It was probably a size too small, he thought, he was going to have to buy her a bigger one. Alex turned back to the rocking chair with a gleam in his eye and held his hands up menacingly. Frankie looked at him and grinned easily, recognizing the game he was trying to play. She flapped her hands and squealed while Alexander whispered loudly.

"I'm goooonnnaaa get you!" Alex ended on a shout and launched forward, using his fingers to tickle under Frankie's arms until she was giggling and gasping for breath. He relented, leaning back so his ass was resting on the heels of his feet. Frankie leaned forward and lowered her eyebrows so she was glaring at Alex. She pushed her top lip out in a reverse pout and Alexander cackled.

"Who are you?! Are you trying to scare me?" He said, whacking her gently with the onesie. Frankie let out a peal of laughter and leaned back in the rocking chair once again. Alex shook his head and wrapped one arm around her, wrestling her to the carpet. He unbuttoned her shirt, then realized he had no diaper to change her into. Fantastic. Alex stood up quickly and scanned the room, eyes landing on a stack of diapers on Frankie's dresser. Man, he really had lost some of his dad-qualities after moving out. Alex grabbed a diaper, turned back to the space on the floor where Frankie was laying and - she was gone. Alexander groaned under his breath and looked around the room. No Frankie. He felt a spike of panic go through his chest, even though logically she didn't have enough time to put herself in danger while he was looking away. Alexander tiptoed to the doorframe and called out, "Frankie? Frances? Where you at, doll?"

He listened carefully and heard no response, so he ventured down the hallway and to the living room, where the light was left on. Frankie was nowhere to be seen in the living room, dining room, or kitchen. Alex looked under the table and on the other side of the couch, panic increasing and making it harder to breathe.

"Frankie, seriously! You're scaring me!"

"Dada!" Alex heaved a huge sigh of relief at the sound of her pipsqueak voice, coming from back down the hallway. Surely she wasn't in her room? He swore he checked everywhere. As Alex walked back down the hall, Frankie continued to babble and - oh. She was in their room - Thomas's room - of course. The door was cracked and it creaked when Alex nudged it open. The room was illuminated by just the dim light of Thomas's lamp, on the nightstand by his side of the bed. Alex inhaled deeply. The room was almost exactly how he remembered it; well, why wouldn't it be? The only difference was the amount of clutter. Thomas's nightstand had quite a few dirty bowls and dishes and there was dirty laundry scattered across the floor, which Frankie was sitting in the middle of, picking up socks and throwing them at the wall. Alexander moved further in the room to retrieve her and tried to squash the feeling that he was somehow intruding on Thomas's personal space. Not long ago, this had been their shared space. He stepped carefully over a pair of Thomas's old glasses that should definitely not be on the floor where Frankie could reach them and leaned down to pick Frankie up. She met him halfway with a sock to the face and he spluttered, spitting the taste of dirty sock out of his mouth.

"Alright, thanks a lot, you punk." Alexander whispered with no real venom, instead returning Frankie's smile before his gaze was drawn to Thomas's bed. The pillow Alex used to sleep on was in a different spot, lined up sideways so that it would lay parallel to Thomas. Alexander furrowed his brow and chewed his cheek nervously. Did that mean Thomas struggled to sleep without something next to him? Just like Alexander? Alex shook away the thought. Not the time or the place. He had a baby to change.

When Frances was dressed and settled down, Alex migrated back to the rocking chair with her and a random book from Thomas's shelf. He sat down and adjusted Frankie so she was laying between the crook of his arm and his side with her head on his chest. Alex thanked whoever was responsible that he remembered to turn off the lights so the mood of the room was sleepy, Frankie's dim, moon-shaped nightlight in the corner providing just enough light for Alex to read. Alex turned the book over in his lap and had to stifle a laugh at the words on the cover. Robin Hood. Of course. A kid being raised by a politician and a lawyer should be educated on when it's necessary to stand up to an evil government and protect the people. Alexander had half a mind to go retrieve an early draft of the Declaration of Independence from where he knew Thomas kept it in his closet and read that instead. But Frankie was already blinking slow and languid, sleep welcoming her into a better world where she could dream of equal rights and a free government. Alex flipped open the book and read about five pages before she was asleep. He then continued to read and read until he'd read the whole thing, all 192 pages, and the heat radiating from Frankie's body became too much. Seriously, why do all sleeping babies automatically become space heaters?

Alexander transferred Frankie to her bed and glanced at the time on his phone. It was half ten, which was surprising because it shouldn't have taken Alex that long to read the book but, in his defense, his mind had a lot to be preoccupied with.

Alex wandered around the house for another few minutes, eventually giving in to his rumbling stomach and ravaging the kitchen for some kind of food. He found a half-empty box of his favorite cereal and poured himself a bowl, scarfing the whole thing down without even moving to the table. Alexander dumped the dirty dishes in the sink and pulled out his phone, scrolling absentmindedly through his favorite revolution blogs. He meant to go to the living room, he really did, but his feet, still clad in black work socks, had other plans. He ended up in Thomas's room. Alexander stuffed his phone back in his pocket and stared at the messy bed calling his name like a siren. It was a strange thing to think about, but Alex felt homesick for a home that wasn't even his. Come to think of it, while he was living with Thomas, he never once missed his old apartment. That might have been because Alexander was the type of person who needed constant entertainment and a baby provided that far better than his lonely, quiet apartment. Now that he was standing in the middle of Thomas's room, something yanked at his chest and pricked at the corners of his eyes, and it felt a lot like sadness.

He stumbled forward, towards the bed, and decided to allow himself just this one moment of indecency. He collapsed onto the blankets and buried his face in Thomas's pillow, scrunching his eyes tight to fight the silly tears dangerously close to spilling over. Alex heaved a sigh and cringed when he got a noseful of something that smelled like waking up pressed against Thomas's skin. Alexander mentally scolded himself, he could have it much worse. At least Thomas was still inviting Alex into his life, still permitting him to bond with his baby and lounge around his house. It would have destroyed Alexander to go back to being Thomas's enemy. They could definitely still carry one hell of a good argument, but it was different knowing it would end with one of them texting some stupid joke and the other responding with a string of angry emojis and then they were both fine. Alex couldn't cope if Thomas stopped talking to him permanently when he moved out, but, then again, it looked like Thomas was barely coping without Alexander even though they still talked on a daily basis.

Alex lifted his head from the warm pillow and gazed at the old dishes on Thomas's nightstand. Obviously, he'd spent a lot of meals holed up in his room, probably watching Netflix on his laptop. They used to eat dinner as a family, Frankie in her highchair, tossing stuff on the floor while Alex scolded her halfheartedly and Thomas scooping food into his mouth to hide a smirk. Alexander had a brief mental debate - he wanted to do the kind thing and clean up the room, but then Thomas would definitely know he snooped and went in without permission. In the end, he decided it couldn't hurt to toss the dishes in the sink and pick up the floor. If he needed an excuse, he could just tell the truth and say he went in Thomas's room to get Frankie.

Alexander hoisted himself up and collected the bowls and cups quickly, speedwalking to the kitchen and giving them a quick rinse before returning to the bedroom to throw all Thomas's dirty clothes in the hamper. Once the room looked less like a disaster, Alex retreated to the living room and plopped down on the couch, kicking his legs up so he could lay across it comfortably.

It wasn't quite ten o'clock when the lock on the door clicked and Thomas shuffled in quietly, startling Alexander from where he'd been dozing off on the couch. Alex sat up and met Thomas's eyes, wide and cloudy from one too many glasses of wine. Alexander's heart pounded a beat faster as he remembered what happened the last time Thomas had a little too much to drink. He sent the thought away with a slight shake of his head. He needn't get his hopes up for anything like that anytime soon. Thomas smiled as Alexander scrambled to stand up and meet him halfway across the living room.

"Hey." The gravel in his voice sent shivers down Alexander's spine.

"Hey." Alex felt his own voice squeak in response.

Slowly, slowly, slowly, Thomas leaned forward until Alexander could see each hair in his goatee, he could count every eyelash, he could see clearly the dark purple bags under Thomas's tired eyes. At the very last second, so close Alex could smell the alcohol on his breath, Thomas changed course and pressed a warm kiss to Alexander's cheek. Which, the number of cheek-kisses Alexander was currently getting didn't make sense, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Thomas leaned back until he was standing straight, albeit slightly wobbly, and took a deep breath.

"So, I'm pretty sure we have this deal in the bag." He stated, Alexander's mind already racing at his wording because - we? as in, Thomas and Alexander? Thomas and a coworker? Who was 'we'? Thomas continued, blind to Alex's distracted thoughts, "And I feel bad because, like, if I had cash I would totally pay you, but-"

"No, no, it's-"

"-I'll make it up to you, can we get dinner next Friday night?" And that, well, Alex wasn't expecting that. He stammered for a minute, shoving his hands in his pockets nervously and avoiding eye contact, before Thomas cleared his throat and reoriented his attention. Alexander met Thomas's intense gaze again and was grounded. He stilled his anxious movements and swayed forward.

"Yeah. Yes. Of course." Thomas grinned, momentarily blinding Alexander.

"Great. I'll text you a time and an address. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm so tired I could eat a horse."

"That is so not how the phrase goes."

"Get out of here so I can go to sleep. Goodnight, Alexander, see you on Wednesday." Alex clenched his jaw to keep from whining at the way Thomas purred his name, but then Thomas's hands were warm on his back, steering him in quick steps toward the front door and then nudging him gently onto the front porch.

"See you Wednesday." Alexander repeated, whirling around at the last second to watch Thomas shut the door. 

"Okay. Love you. Goodnight." The door shut in Alexander's face and the lock clicked before he could process what all just happened. His mind tried to catch up, but it was too late at night and his brain was too sluggish to even remember Thomas's parting words. Alex turned on his heel and walked down the block to the bus stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're so close you guys /so close/ i hate slow burn WIPs so idk how you guys are surviving. i only read slow burn once they've been completed and i can be happy.
> 
> HIT ME UP W UR HEADCANONS and look i'm not a great artist but i NEED art of frankie in my life,,,, please help my poor soul..... i need to see hammy sipping from a "#1 DAD" mug while wearing frankie in a harness and his hair in a giant messy mom bun on top of his head.... bruises under his eyes bc no one sleeps when you have a baby...... please somebody come through and provide this for me
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	14. friday night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thomas pays for alex's dinner and it feels suspiciously like a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know i keep changing the update schedule i KNOW but it's so hard because i'm writing the epilogue and i want you guys to be experiencing this with me!!!! this is one of the last chapters. there will be at least one more actual chapter but i'm thinking that will turn into two and then i have over 2k written for the epilogue. i think i can manage updating every other day dglkjds thank you everyone for such a positive response to this fic!! i read every comment even if i don't reply, i see you and i love you!! i just lose track of comments between this and my other fics ;-;

Lunch on Wednesday was normal, Thomas didn't act out of character at all, minus the way he always seemed to be staring at Alexander. Every time Alex turned to smile at Thomas, the man would already be looking at him, the dark spots under his eyes only slightly lighter. Alexander wrote the staring off as Thomas being overtired. By the time Friday rolled around, Alex could barely focus on his work, he was so distracted by possible scenarios running through his head. He was trying to write a conclusion for this new case he'd been assigned; he wanted to plan out all the topics he needed to cover before the court date on Monday. Lately, he got stuck with the lame cases, ones that would normally go to a newbie (or to Burr, if Alex had anything to say about it). A black kid caught smoking weed who would be off the hook if he was white, a mom who accidentally-on-purpose locked her kids in the car so she could shower in peace, an angry ex breaking into their past lover's house to retrieve their belongings. The kind of stuff that Alex could win easily, but he wouldn't get paid very well for it. Money wasn't Alexander's priority anyway, he was more into the fight for justice, whatever that might look like. Speaking of money, Alex wondered idly if Thomas was paying for dinner tonight. Wait, of course he was, this was supposed to be a dinner to pay Alexander back for watching Frankie. Nothing more than that.

Still, when Thomas texted him an address and a simple "7pm meet me there", butterflies exploded in his stomach in a flurry of nervousness that made him slightly nauseous. Alex ended up leaving work early, around 5:30pm, and calling Lafayette to help him pick out an outfit.

Of course, if Lafayette was coming over, Hercules and John were coming over too. Alexander opened the door to their stupid love party with thirty minutes until he needed to leave. The trio tripped over each other in an effort to squeeze through the door. Hercules had one arm thrown over John's shoulders and the other arm intertwined with Laf's. Alexander rolled his eyes at their cutesy display of affection.

"You guys are ridiculous. Can you break up for a few minutes so Lafayette can help me get dressed?" John shot him an incredulous look while Hercules belted out a laugh.

"Isn't the point of tonight supposed to be you getting _undressed_?" Herc said at the same time as John said, "Hey, rude! I'm here to help, too! I'm the best judge of which skinny jeans will make that ass pop." Alexander groaned and tugged at Lafayette's arm.

"Laf, please? Get in my closet and make me look beautiful." Lafayette muttered under his breath and untangled his arm from Hercules, ignoring the other man's pitiful whine.

"Didn't you both come out of the closet already?!" John shouted as Lafayette and Alexander retreated to his bedroom. Hercules cackled again and Alex turned around just long enough to stick out his tongue and flip off his friends before Lafayette was dragging him into the bedroom.

"Okay, we don't have much to work with, mon cheri." Lafayette muttered as he dug through the piles of clothes in Alexander's closet. Alex shuffled his feet and shrugged.

"I don't go out much, sue me." Lafayette looked over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not going to sue a lawyer, especially one as mean as you. I'm not fucking stupid."

"It's a figure of speech." Lafayette clicked his tongue and tossed a steel gray button up in Alex's general direction.

"Life's too short not to say what you mean. Put that on." Alexander complied, yanking off his loose-fitting work shirt in favor of the slimmer dress shirt. He buttoned the sleeves with no small amount of effort and waited for Lafayette's approval. The french man turned around and held out a pair of black skinny jeans before looking Alex up and down. He let out out a low whistle and pretended to fan himself with the other hand.

"You clean up well, papi." Alex cringed.

"Please never call me that again."

"Fine. We need to do something with that hair, though. You look like un oiseau." Alex frowned and took the pants from Lafayette before yanking them on.

"Like a what?"

"A bird!" Lafayette pushed past Alexander and hurried into the bathroom, emerging with a hairbrush and detangling spray. Alex eyed him and shook his hair out with one hand.

"I didn't even know I had that." Lafayette gave Alex's hair a condescending look.

"Obviously."

Alexander wrinkled his nose but followed Lafayette out of the closet and to his bed, where Laf pushed him into a sitting position and sprayed his hair until it was damp. Laf ran the brush through it unforgivingly, ignoring Alexander's yelps of pain. He brushed Alex's tangled hair until it was smooth, then pulled it back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. As soon as Lafayette was done, Alex twisted away from his hands and dashed to the bathroom to appraise himself in the mirror. He rotated his hips and tossed his hair, grinning at his reflection.

"I look amazing! You're the best, Laf!" Alex said as Lafayette's reflection appeared behind him.

"I know. You're welcome. Can you manage to wash your face without messing up your hair? And brush your teeth. I'll be waiting in the living room." Alex nodded and complied, rinsing the oil off his face from a full day of rubbing his eyes. He finished brushing his teeth and went back to his bedroom, searching his dresser until he found a small box hidden among his socks. Alex shoved the box in his pocket and walked out of his bedroom. When he finally reentered the living room, John shrieked and Hercules started wolf whistling. Lafayette cackled at their reactions and Alexander blushed. He put on a show of crossing the living room, taking dramatic steps on his toes like he was walking down a catwalk. Hercules clapped and jeered while John pretended to faint. Alex sucked his cheeks in and pursed his lips, putting his hands on his hips. Lafayette was almost crying with laughter and Alexander was distracted by him long enough for Hercules to pull out his phone and take a picture of his ridiculous pose. By the time all four of them calmed down, it was time for Alex to leave. He pulled on his shoes and ushered his friends through the door.

"Thank you, I love you guys, see you later!"

"Alex, we have to take the elevator together." John deadpanned as Alexander pulled the door closed behind him.

"Oh. Right."

They walked to the elevator and got in, Alex and John wrestling briefly over who got to push the button. In the end, Hercules reached over both of them and pushed the button for the main floor, the elevator dinging over the sound of Lafayette screeching for John not to mess up Alexander's hair.

Hercules drove to Alexander's apartment, the absolute maniac, so Alex was stuck walking to the bus stop by himself. He waved goodbye to Hercules, who was playing referee to a game of rock-paper-scissors between Laf and John that decided who got to sit in the front. 

"Don't forget to use protection!" Hercules shouted through cupped hands. Alexander rolled his eyes.

"We're not having sex!" He protested, but Herc's attention was already back on his boyfriends. Alexander huffed and stomped the rest of the way to the subway.

The restaurant Thomas sent him to was nice enough to match the clothes Alex was wearing, but not too fancy for his tastes. Alexander was grateful for that; he knew Thomas was raised with private cooks and shit and that definitely wasn't up his alley. Alexander peered around the edge of the building and caught sight of Thomas standing near the door. Alex gasped gently and gawked at Thomas - he was wearing a dark blue, long sleeve buttoned shirt similar to Alexander's, except he was wearing it with black slacks and a narrow black tie that somehow brought the whole look together. His hair was pushed back by a headband but still curled outward in the back. Alexander could see the reflection of Thomas's watch as he lifted a hand and glanced at his wrist, the movement reminding Alex that he should probably let Thomas know he was there.

"Thomas!" Alex half-shouted, strolling forward with an awkward wave. "Hey, you look stunning!" Thomas flashed a grin as he spotted Alexander and shrugged.

"Oh, this old thing?" Alexander snickered at the haughty look Thomas adopted on his face, made complete by Thomas lifting a hand to inspect his nails. "It's nothing. But you look good, too, who did your hair?" Alex ran a hand through his ponytail subconsciously and narrowed his eyes at Thomas.

"Are you saying I couldn't put my own hair in a ponytail?!" He questioned, face heating up under Thomas's knowing look.

"Did you forget that we lived together for, like, a year?"

"Eight months." Alexander corrected, "Also, you're rude. And you're right. Laf did my hair."

Thomas chuckled and Alex melted at the way his eyes shone black in the light of the streetlamp. Thomas stepped forward, causing Alexander's blush to deepen at their close proximity, then grabbed the handle of the door beside them and opened it.

"After you." Thomas murmured. Alexander inhaled and tried not to gag - it smelled suspiciously like leather and rich people. They were seated quickly once Thomas gave them his name and Alex climbed in the booth on his knees, causing Thomas to giggle. Once their drink orders had been taken - non-alcoholic by Alexander's request - and Thomas placed an order for an appetizer, Alexander dug around in his pocket and procured the box from earlier.

"So, no homo, but I got you something." Thomas hummed and furrowed his eyebrows at the box Alex handed him. He clicked open the latch and gasped at the sight of a sleek, black metal bracelet. The letters FLJ and a heart were engraved in the middle. Thomas took the bracelet out gently and put it on his wrist, holding his hand out for Alex to do the clasp.

"Alex, this is too much! And what is it with you and engraving initials onto jewelry?" Alex shrugged.

"I had a coupon that was about to expire." Thomas roared with laughter, tilting his head back and patting delicately at his eyes.

"Of course you did! Why would I expect any different?" Alex grinned as Thomas sat back up and caught his eye. The moment was interrupted by the waiter bringing their drinks. Alex took a sip of his water and wished he could stop blushing.

They ended up splitting an entree, both of them already almost full thanks to the appetizer and unlimited sweet rolls. Alexander convinced Thomas to let him cover the tip since Thomas was paying for the food. It only took a little bit of pouting and puppy dog eyes for Thomas to relent with a sigh. Alex cheered and thanked the waiter profusely when he cleared up their plates. After they left the restaurant, they ended up walking around the block and having a relaxed conversation about Frankie's new teeth that quickly turned into a debate about whether or not they should pierce Frankie's ears.

"Just think of how cute she would be in earrings! Like, I could get her little whale ones, or little rainbow ones, I know you like rainbows."

"No, Thomas! She's too young to consent and I am so tired of people piercing their baby daughters' ears just because they're girls. If she was a boy would you still do it?"

"Of course! Imagine a baby boy with rainbow earrings!"

"...you're right. That's adorable."

"Exactly!"

Alexander giggled and scuffed his feet on the sidewalk on the next step. They were approaching Alex's bus stop and he knew it was time to say goodbye. They stopped near the bench and stood across from each other for a moment before Alex launched forward and wrapped his arms around Thomas in a hug. Thomas chuckled, a little breathless, and squeezed Alexander around the waist. Alex pulled away with a smile and Thomas reached one hand up to smooth down his hair where it fell out of the ponytail. Alexander swallowed as Thomas tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and let his fingers graze Alex's neck. The smile dropped from Thomas's face and he blinked slowly, but then the bus was pulling up with a hiss and the sudden noise made them both jump. Thomas chuckled and shook his head slowly. Alexander cursed under his breath, crossing his arms across his chest. Thomas kicked lightly at his foot to get his attention again and when Alex looked back up, he swore Thomas was blushing.

"Thanks for the bracelet. I'm sure Frankie's going to try and steal it tomorrow."

"Thank you for dinner! You really didn't have to pay for me, I mean, I would watch Frankie for free every day." Thomas chuckled.

"She would love that. We'll have to bring her out with us sometime." Alexander almost shivered at Thomas's wording. He almost made it sound like they were - something.

"Absolutely. I'm about to miss my bus, see you Wednesday?" Thomas nudged him with his shoulder and gasped lightly when Alex pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"See you Wednesday, Alexander." Alex grinned and speed-walked to the doors of the bus before they shut him out. He couldn't stop smiling the whole way home and when he fell asleep that night, he dreamed of sweet rolls and headbands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER THEY"RE ABOUT TO GET TOGETHER YOU DONT HAVE TO WAIT MUCH LONGER
> 
> send me headcanons and imagines and for the love of god SOMEONE draw frankie i love my little daughter
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	15. alex and thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex and thomas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, here it is. look at where we are look at where we started (insert me crying for years)
> 
> read the end notes or ill never post the epilogue!!!

After Thomas bought Alex dinner Friday night, they started a routine of getting lunch on Wednesdays and dinner on Fridays. Alexander insisted that they take turns paying because otherwise, Thomas would try to pay every time and Alex couldn't have that. So the weeks started passing faster for both of them, thanks to having something to look forward to every few days. However, Alexander's loneliness wasn't completely cured until everything came to a head more than a month later.

It was Tuesday and Alex was having an extremely.. antsy day. He started the morning with some brand new coffee from his favorite shop but nobody bothered to inform him that this drink had _three times_ as much caffeine as his regular cappuccino. So the energy built up inside Alex in the form of anxious foot tapping, which escalated to Alexander pacing circles around his desk, phone in one hand and a pencil twirling in the other. He took the opportunity to chew Burr out over the phone for a good 45 minutes, then he dialed Washington and gave an impromptu lecture about how his brain was diseased after a month of dumb cases and couldn't he get something saucy to work on, like a murder or something? Washington responded in a voice that moved way too slow for Alexander's rapid thoughts so he cut him off after two words with, "You know what, just text it to me, you are taking way too long to talk right now, bye!" Alex hung up before Washington could respond and collapsed in his desk chair once again. He checked the time on his phone and sighed when he saw that it was almost time for lunch. He wasn't sure how much longer he could survive being cooped up in this office. Alexander jiggled his legs and tossed his pencil on the desk so he could hold the phone in two hands. He scrolled through his contacts and settled on Hercules.

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
wanna get lunch? i'm going crazy at the office

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
I can't sorry boo :( today's my john day. laf's on a trip so we're having bonding time. is thomas busy or something?

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
aww i wish i had someone to date :( it would be really nice to be in a relationship right now

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
alex. you have a boyfriend

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
um no i dont?

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
yes you do. thomas

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
me and thomas aren't dating

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
yes you are! you literally have a date tomorrow! as a matter of fact, you have a standing lunch date every wednesday. you text all day long. thomas took you out to eat last friday night.

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
that wasn't a date, we do that every friday

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
alex, you texted me about what you should wear and sent me a picture of you in black skinny jeans. john said you only wear those pants when you want to get laid. thomas told me he made reservations at a high-end restaurant and he planned on paying for both of you. that's a date. you slept in the same bed for like, eight months! you kiss him on the cheek all the time!

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
that's because i'm trying to court him!

To: hamcakes  
From: beef herky  
if you're courting him then the courting is mutual considering thomas sends flowers and chocolate to the office after you post emotional rants on facebook instead of working. he gets moody any time a man looks twice at you. he packs homemade snacks to give you on wednesdays with cute notes to cheer you up at work!

Alexander felt his heart drop as he read, then reread, Hercules' words. He blinked, furrowed his brow, pursed his lips in an effort to concentrate harder. Wait. What? Alex replayed the past few months over in his mind. All the gifts he and Thomas traded, the gentle cheek touches, the prolonged staring, the flirting, the private meals. Holy shit. He and Thomas were dating.

To: beef herky  
From: hamcakes  
oh my god. thomas and i are dating. HOLY SHIT ME AND THOMAS ARE DATING

Alexander's heart rate picked up even faster than it already was from his caffeine intake and his hands started to shake as he stood up quickly. His vision got slightly spotty, but he powered through, shoving his phone and wallet in his pocket and throwing the door to his office so hard it slammed into the wall with a huge crack.

"Sorry!" Alex called absentmindedly over his shoulder as he raced down the hall and out the front door of the office. He made it to the bus stop in record time and bounced in place impatiently until the next bus screeched to a stop. By the time he made it to Thomas's office, the adrenaline rush slowed down until Alexander was back at his normal hyperactive level. He nodded at the secretary sitting at the front desk, barely glancing as she waved him through. Alexander made it to the door of Thomas's office and threw it open, bursting in with his face red and hands clenched into fists. Thomas looked up from where he was sitting, only slightly surprised, which just served to tick Alexander off even more. Thomas stood up as Alex marched across the room to get in his face. Thomas blinked slowly at the fury on Alexander's face and kept his own face carefully blank.

"You're dating me!" Alexander spat.

"I'm dating you." Thomas said, completely unphased. Alex could see a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

"How long have you been dating me?"

Thomas glanced at the date on his laptop screen. March 15th.

"It'd be a year in June, I suppose. I think that's when you moved in."

Alex was furious. He lunged forward and connected his lips with Thomas's, finally earning a yelp of surprise from the taller man. Alexander made a noise akin to a growl and smacked one hand on the nape of Thomas's neck to hold him in place. Thomas's teeth clashed against Alexander's when he parted his lips to take a desperate breath. Alex wasn't about to let him catch a break, yet, though. He squeezed the back of Thomas's neck and nipped at his lower lip just to hear Thomas gasp again. Alexander moved his tongue fluidly against Thomas's, fighting his way into the other man's mouth, but Thomas didn't expect anything different. Alexander finally released Thomas's neck and leaned back to catch his breath and Thomas loved the way his face was red and flushed, his lips already bruised. Alex's eyes spit fire when he glared at Thomas, but the way his cheeks wrinkled by his eyes showed Thomas his passion wasn't from anger anymore.

"You can't date someone without their permission." Thomas shrugged one shoulder.

"You can't date someone normal without their permission. And you, Alexander Hamilton, are possibly the furthest thing from normal I've ever seen." Alex ducked his head and preened under the praise for a moment before catching himself and jerking his chin up once more. The way Thomas was gazing, loving and gentle, at the growing smile on his face made him feel completely exposed.

"Do you love me?" Alexander demanded.

"I love you." Thomas answered easily, feeling his own face betray him with a grin that Alexander kissed right off. They were both smiling too hard to truly be kissing, but Thomas intended to make up for a lot of lost time later that night.

Alex pulled them apart one last time to whisper gleefully, "My lease is up on March 31st. Just saying." Thomas let out an exaggerated moan.

"Talk dirty to me."

"I will if you promise to never say that again." Thomas smiled and kissed the tip of Alexander's nose.

"Agreed."

Unfortunately for both of them, it was still the middle of the workday and they both had jobs to do. Alexander pouted at the doorway when lunch hour was over and it was time to say goodbye. Thomas never stopped grinning as he pecked a kiss on Alex's lower lip where it stuck out childishly and spun the shorter man through the door. So, Alexander had to leave Thomas and his face and his mouth and his eyes that looked straight through Alex in a way that made him shudder. For the rest of the day, Alexander found it easier than ever to stay in his computer chair and work without tapping his feet thanks to some kind of hidden anticipation. He had to pause every once and a while to text Thomas and just make sure he was sure about this - Alex would say, 'u sure u want to date me i snore pretty bad', and Thomas would reply, 'i know i slept next to you for months ill buy some headphones'. And so on.

That night, Alexander took the bus straight to Thomas's house, where Thomas and Frankie greeted him at the door. Frankie squealed as Alexander took her in his arms.

"Frankie, guess what? Me and your dad are dating! Papa and Dada are dating!" Thomas shut the door behind them and laughed, reaching over to ruffle Alexander's hair.

"Repeat that sentence and remind me how we never figured this out. My daughter literally calls you daddy."

"She's a smart girl." Alex said, nuzzling Frankie's cheek. She giggled and smacked her lips in an effort to give kisses. 

"Indeed, she is." Thomas answered, catching Alexander's chin in one hand and turning his head to plant a real kiss on his lips. Alexander blushed and looked at Frankie, self conscious. She was gawking at the two of them, little eyebrows furrowed like she was trying to figure out what in the world was going on. She started babbling something that almost sounded like a question, if Alex focused real hard, and then smiled again.

"Yes, we are in love, Frances, also, holy cow, look at those teeth! Geez, I've only been gone a few months!"

"Yeah, apparently we're not the only ones catching up on stuff. She's gotten, like, seven new teeth since you moved out and my life is a living hell." Thomas complained, drawing another laugh from Alex.

"That's my girl, wait until I'm gone to give Papa a hard time." Thomas chuckled and idly scratched Alexander's shoulder with one hand.

"I'm just glad we don't have to do this again. One baby is enough. Now, I don't know about you, but I could really go for a family cuddle party right now." Alexander cheered and bounced Frankie on his hip.

"Race you to the bedroom! First one to fall asleep loses!" He took off with Frankie and left Thomas in the living room, feeling complete and giddy and wondering how he ever managed to get so lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to write my novel here so yall could get straight to the story:
> 
> i can't take credit for the idea of dating someone ridiculous without their permission, i got it and some lines of dialogue from one of my favorite fanfictions by whoknows called "Have You Coming Back Again". someone tell me what code works here to make links in the notes but until then here's a link to the fic which you should totally read:
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/2737886
> 
> our stories are very very different and theirs is SO MUCH BETTER.
> 
> okay so about this chapter!!
> 
> it's here, we did it, they figured shit out and now they can kiss and everything!!!! it's a miracle!!! there won't be any NSFW in this fic, but the amazing lovely Momma_Time has written the cutest morning after scene you will ever read and frankie is my favorite so PLEASE go read it!! (it's very non graphic so if you're not into smut don't worry!):
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/10069775
> 
> and finally, this is probably going to be the very last chapter from alex or thomas's perspective. even though i want to write more focusing on the aspects of their new relationship, i mean, nothing is really going to change!! they are already in love and have been for almost a year and the fuckers just never figured it out. so the next thing i post is probably going to be the epilogue unless between now and tuesday i go crazy and write another chapter. but i think this is a good stopping/transition point and you'll see why when i post the epilogue. i'll probably do a oneshot series for this verse because i can't help myself. if you have ideas or things you want to see please share with me!!
> 
> i hope i'm not forgetting anything but i feel like i am. story of my life.
> 
> edit: turns out i was forgetting something! so i just want everyone to know ive had this chapter with this plot point planned out from way early on, like since i started writing this fic, and if you're confused at all about their relationship leading up to this chapter, here's a breakdown.
> 
> thomas figured out he loved alex and decided to act on it, knowing alex would just go along with whatever he did. alex was under the impression that he and thomas weren't dating but that they were just good friends. alex has known he loved thomas for almost as long as thomas has known and he was trying to openly flirt and show interest, building up to a point where alex would have eventually asked thomas out if thomas wasn't already straight up dating him. for being such a smart man he's kind of blind sometimes.
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com


	16. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when our children tell our story, they'll tell the story of tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read the end notes!!!  
> (ps i'm uploading this epilogue on 3/7 and completely by chance it happens to be 3.7k long. wtf)

It turns out, one wasn't enough.

Frankie considered herself to be a pretty normal kid. She had two loving parents, she lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood and went to a nice school. On her fifth birthday, she asked for a battleship and a pet snake, and her dads wouldn't let her have either of those things, so she wrote them a strong-worded (though her spelling could use some improvement) angry letter explaining her womanly right to own weapons, and if her weapons of choice were a boat and a reptile, they had no right to hold her back. Her dad was so proud that he cried and begged Papa to let her have a snake. They negotiated for a whole week before Papa snapped one day and contacted a breeder. Frankie and her dad cheered and encouraged Papa, telling him that he taught her how working hard and being persistent can help you reach your goals. Frankie named the snake Nicki after Nicki Minaj (Papa cursed the kid who let her listen to "Anaconda". fucking public school.) and she wore it around her neck every day for a whole summer, simultaneously scaring kids away and becoming a topic of interest; inviting them closer. The summer after her fifth birthday ended with a brand new best friend, Dad getting bit by the snake and Papa deciding he liked the snake, and Frankie learning she would be getting a baby brother or sister.

A week after Dad and Papa's dating anniversary, so sometime in March, according to Frankie's vague six-year-old calender comprehension, someone in a hospital gave birth to a baby from their vagina and Frances got to watch. Daddy and Papa taught her about eggs and sperm and all that stuff beforehand, but she got special permission from the Birth Mom to be in the room when her baby brother, Charles, was born. She learned a lot that day - babies get food from a placenta and when the baby comes out, they stay attached to the placenta for forty minutes. Babies cry a lot, but Frankie had headphones at home so she wouldn't have to worry about that. Baby Charles came out at 7:23pm and he was very tiny and pink and wrinkled and Frankie loved him so absolutely much she couldn't contain it so after Daddy let her hold him for a few minutes, she excused herself into the bathroom and screamed into the toilet, "HOLY SHIT, I LOVE BABIES!" She went back into the hospital room and looked around at all the people giggling into their hands.

"What's going on?" 

"Honey, what just happened?" Papa's voice was muffled because his head was in his hands and Daddy shook with laughter so hard that Baby Charles was also shaking a little on his chest.

"I had to word vomit." Frankie answered, reaching for the baby again. Papa lifted his head and gave Dad a hard, angry look, but the way he wiped the tears off Daddy's face was gentle and loving.

"Frances Luella, you cannot say words like that in a hospital." Frankie stuck out her bottom lip.

"Words like vomit, Papa?"

"No, words like.." Papa shared a look with Daddy. "Words like shit. You can't say the word shit in a hospital."

"Okay. Sorry. I won't." Frankie gave him her hugest toothy grin, or as Daddy called it, the "no-BS smile" because she used it to get out of trouble often. Her excuse was that her best friend, Jakobe, lost both his top teeth recently and she wanted to get in as many big smiles as she could before all her teeth fell out, too.

So, "Frances Luella" became "Frankie and Charles" and she had a new understanding of what it meant to love and be loved. She had a fierce urge to protect and defend her baby brother and the gummy smiles and baby noises she got in return made everything worth it. She got sleepy cuddles from Daddy and Papa after nights when Charles refused to sleep, she drew pictures of their family, giving Charles curly black hair like her own. Even though Papa said his hair wouldn't be curly like hers, she thought maybe if she wished it hard enough it would happen. Despite everything, by the time Charles was walking, he had a fluffy mane of hair so light it was almost white and Frances petted his soft head every chance she got. She corrected with Lafayette, John, and Hercules when they started calling Charles "Charlie" and gave them weird looks when Lafayette said she sounded just like her father.

For her dads' sixth dating anniversary, when Frankie was seven years old, she had an extremely important job. She had to hold a wriggling Charles long enough for Papa to get down on one knee and hold Dad's hand. She was in on the secret - Papa planned out a speech about love and family and she didn't quite understand it but it made Daddy cry harder than she'd ever seen, and that was a high bar to cross. On their wedding day, Charles' long, blonde hair got pulled into a ponytail and Frankie chose to wear a tuxedo that matched the rest of her family. Her hair was braided and strung with white beads, it was so long that the beads clicked against each other way past her shoulders. For once, Papa cried more than Daddy when they said their vows, and during the reception, they both toasted to Frankie for bringing them together. They took pictures outside with Frankie on her dad's shoulders and with both of them kissing her cheeks and with Frankie kissing Charles' cheek until Charles got too tired and Aunt Eliza had to drag him, kicking and screaming, back to the hotel room.

Frankie lost her top teeth during the summer after her eighth birthday, even though she'd been wiggling them constantly for ages. When Daddy saw her smile after work, he started bawling and Frankie and Papa had to hug him until he calmed down. Dad tucked her into bed that night and reread Robin Hood - a story Frankie knew so well she could recite the book word for word. He'd stroked her hair and her cheek and whispered loving words until Frances couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

When Frankie was ten and Charles was four, Papa sat them down in the living room and announced that they decided to have another baby and this time, the baby would be blood related to Dad. Frankie's initial reaction was to groan and say, "Another one?!" But after Papa pulled out old baby pictures of Frankie and Charles, with their chunky cheeks and squinty eyes, she was convinced. Maybe one more baby just meant more people to love. It meant bigger cuddle parties, for sure.

In July, when Frances was ten-almost-eleven, baby Daisy Ramona was born. She had tan skin and a dimple on her chin and a cute little mole by her right eye and Charles was terrified of her - he cried and clung to Papa when he saw her for the first time. Daddy cried, too, and kissed Frankie's forehead over and over, running his fingers through her curls until they frizzed up on top of her head. Frances felt her heart expand to fit another person. Daisy had a tuft of black hair on top of her head that Frankie pinned rainbow bows in every morning. When Daisy was old enough to sit up, Frankie would haul her around the house on one hip. Since Frances was older than she was when Charles was born, she got to be more involved, and while that helped her dads immensely, it also terrified them. Having a third baby seemed to make them realize how old Frances was actually getting. They started throwing around words like, 'teenager' and 'high school' and 'oh my god' a lot more.

The little house Frankie grew up in got too small for their growing family, so when Daddy got another raise from work, they moved into a brand new house with three bedrooms. Frankie got to have her own room again and since Daisy slept in their dads' room most of the time, Charles got his own room too. Frankie started playing sports and showing interest in music, so during the week, her and Charles had voice lessons Monday, soccer on Tuesday, piano on Wednesday, soccer again on Thursday, and a free day Friday. Most Friday nights were spent curled up on the couch, Charles in his favorite (hideous) pink and yellow polka dot pajama pants, Frankie in sweats and one of her dad's raggedy shirts, and Daisy already asleep on Papa's side of the bed. Frankie and Charles would alternate every week, one Friday Frankie would sit in Papa's lap and the next she would sit in Dad's lap. Dad was in charge of movies because, in Papa's words, "Daddy wants to control everything, the little menace." To which Dad would swipe at Papa with a dish towel and scowl, but the scowl was just to hide his smile. Frankie liked to sit with Dad on movie nights because even though he was fidgety and couldn't sit still, she liked to tangle her hands in his hair and pretend she wasn't going to be a teenager in a few short years. Papa would rub her back with one hand because he always wanted to give everybody equal attention, even if he was supposed to be spending time with just one of them. Frankie always shared her stuffed toys with Charles on movie nights - he could pick between her favorite stuffed llama and stuffed lion. He almost always chose the llama, which was fine with Frankie because she preferred the lion anyway.

For Frankie's thirteenth birthday, she got a special date day with each of her dads, and then a day with both of them, no Charles or Daisy Ramona allowed. Charles whined and put up a fuss for the babysitter, but Frankie just gave him a hug and pet his hair and told him not to worry - when it was his birthday, he would get special dates too. Frankie pinched Daisy's cheek and kissed her forehead goodbye and when she turned back to Dad and Papa, ready to leave, they were watching with misty eyes. Frankie furrowed her eyebrows and watched the way Dad had his head resting on Papa's shoulder, the way Papa was whispering just quiet enough that Frankie couldn't hear.

"What are you guys saying?" Frankie demanded, putting her hands on her hips and tapping one foot impatiently.

"Nothing, doll." Dad answered, brushing his fingertips on his cheek to wipe away a stray tear.

"Dad, you're not supposed to gossip. Lafayette says gossip is a sin." Dad snorted at that and Papa bumped his shoulder against Daddy's head admonishingly.

"Lafayette is one to fuckin' talk." Dad muttered and Frankie, despite her faux-anger, cackled.

"Alex!" Papa scolded in a low voice, but Frankie could see the way his eyes danced and betrayed him.

"Daddy! No BS!" Charles called from somewhere behind Frankie, lisping the 's' sound ever so slightly. Charles wasn't seven years old yet, but he'd already lost all four top teeth at once. Frankie needled him for a cut of the tooth fairy money but Charles stuck his tongue out at her and said, "There's no tooth fairy, anyway, I'm just pretending not to know so I can buy a toy from the Dollar Store." Frankie threatened to tattle if he didn't split the money with her and said he basically owed her anyway because she was the first child. However, Charles was raised by the same clever parents who raised Frankie, so he one-upped her and told his dads that Frankie told him the tooth fairy wasn't real, AND that she tried to steal his money. Frankie got grounded from movie night and Charles got an extra dollar. Being a big sister was rough.

When Frankie was fifteen, she went on her first date with a boy. Papa and Dad argued about who got to take them to the movies. Papa arguing that Dad didn't have enough self control and would try to ruin the night for her, Dad arguing that he would honor Frankie's wishes and do whatever she wanted him to do, and that if Papa went, he would be a nervous wreck the whole time and thus would stress Frankie out. In the end, they asked Frankie who she wanted to chaperone, and she first muttered "No one." then decided she would rather have her dad there but ONLY if he promised not to talk during the movie.

The guy she went on a date with was also fifteen and he was extremely white and extremely nervous. He had wavy red hair that Frankie found fascinating and freckles all over his face. He met her at the theater - his parents let him take the bus by himself, imagine having that kind of freedom, Frankie thought - and offered to buy Frankie's ticket. Frankie's dad introduced himself as loudly as he did anything else.

"Alexander Hamilton. I'm a lawyer." and shook the poor kid's hand just a little bit too rough. The boy gathered up his courage and took a deep breath before puffing his chest out and responding, "I'm Richard Sawyer and I'm tired of the dick jokes." Which caught Alexander off guard and sent him into a laughing fit that lasted until they were in the movie theater.

Frances caught Richard's eye and gave him a thumbs up, which he returned with a smile and a blush. Frankie's dad let them sit next to each other and pretended not to notice Richard pulling the moves on Frankie halfway through the movie; stretching to put his arm around her shoulders and all that stuff. When the movie was over, Frances walked hand in hand with Richard to the exit and kissed him goodbye on the cheek. Dad stepped between them after that and clapped Richard on the shoulder before leaning in to whisper, "Hey, if you do anything to hurt my baby, I'll Saw-yer Dick off."

He then leaned back and cackled loudly, "I'm just messing with you, Richard, I'm sorry! I trust Frances and I don't really care who she dates as long as they are respectful and she's not getting mistreated. God, I could never be the stupid shotgun dad. You're a good kid, Richard." Frankie leaned around her dad to whisper, "I'm so sorry!" and Richard took it all in like a champ, just shrugging and waving goodbye to Frankie like this was all totally normal.

Frankie graduated high school with flying colors. She let her dad braid her hair to look like a crown in a circle on top of her head and when she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, she smiled broadly and felt her heart thump at the sound of her fathers cheering louder than anyone else. The afterparty took place at their house, with all her pseudo-aunts and uncles present. Hercules picked up several Chick Fil A chicken nugget trays and that gesture alone almost made Frankie cry. Her favorite place to eat was often overruled by her stubborn-ass dad refusing to pay a company that "hates the gays". Frances agreed with the sentiment, but Chick Fil A was fucking delicious.

Frankie accepted gifts from Angelica and Peggy, accepted a teary hug and kiss from Eliza and an even longer, more emotional hug from John, who was bawling his eyes out. Lafayette gifted her a glass pendant in the shape of a raindrop made of clear glass. Inside, there was a little scene with tiny figures in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and several restaurants in France. Frances squealed and bounced on her toes, thanking Laf profusely. Lafayette said something sweet in French and kissed the top of her head. Hercules also had a gift for her - a stack of new books that smelled fresh and woodsy, making Frankie swoon. He gathered her up in a bear hug and squeezed until she was giggling breathlessly. When all the gifts were exchanged and the only evidence of chicken nuggets left was crumbs and empty sauce packets, Papa stood up in the middle of the living room and got everyone's attention.

"Frances, your dad and I, well, we recorded our lives a lot when you were a baby. And today, we made a compilation of those videos to honor you. Well, we made the video, like, a month ago. And I didn't really make it, Daddy did, but-"

"But we love you and Papa needs to stop talking so we can just watch the video already." Dad interrupted, joining Papa in the center of the room. He wrapped an arm around Papa's waist and they shared a smile.

"He's right. For once. We love you, Frankie. Okay, here's the video." Papa nudged Dad onto the couch and sat down next to him, pressing play on the laptop connected to the tv. Immediately, a video came up, clear as day, of a newborn Frankie. Daisy awwed from her spot next to Frankie on the couch and Daddy shushed her.

"Frances, say hi to Uncle Alex!" Thomas's voice sounded through the tv as the video got close to baby Frankie's face. Frankie wrinkled her nose on screen and in real life. It was so weird to hear her dad's name as 'Uncle Alex'. The video faded into another where Frankie was visibly older, though still a baby.

"Here's Frances, three months old! Still no teeth, but she takes a bottle like a champ, isn't that right, darling?" Thomas zoomed in on Frankie's face and laughed when she gurgled and spit up.

"Yeah, she does that a lot, Alex. It's a nightmare. All my clothes are ruined." A chuckle from Thomas on camera and the video switched again, this time the setting was on a beach at sunset. The camera was zoomed in on Alex, tan and shining in the evening light, with Frankie on his hip as he stood in the middle of the ocean. They were facing away from the camera and Alex was pointing to something out at sea. Alexander turned and the camera focused on his face.

"Oh my god, Dad! You look so young!" Dad chuckled.

"I know. I'm over here all wrinkled and shit but your father hasn't aged a day." Frankie glanced over to see Papa shrug.

"Black don't crack." Frankie leaned across the couch to give her dad a high five as Daisy sighed pathetically.

"I wish I was black!" Frankie giggled and squeezed Daisy close to her side.

"You're beautiful, Dais. Now, look, what's happening?" The video cut to a clip of Papa eating ice cream on a harbor.

"Thomas, has Frankie ever had ice cream before?" Alex's voice, high pitched and giggly, said through the tv. Thomas smiled and Frankie noticed the way his eyes weren't on the camera, instead glued to the spot just above the camera where her dad would have been. Frankie felt her heart flip. They were so in love, even back then.

"Not before today, I think." The camera turned to Frankie, who was in a horrendous swimsuit and whose hair was being blown out of two pigtails by the wind.

"Frances, you want Dada to give you a bite?"

"Dadada?" Video Frankie babbled while real life Frankie blushed. She giggled at the sight of her baby self getting brain freeze and still falling for the trick over and over. Eventually, video Thomas stopped Alex's antics and the camera turned to capture a close up of Alexander's face. His cheeks were red from laughter and his eyes wrinkled at the corners, showing the start of the long laugh lines he had now.

"Frankie, your Papa is not any fun." The room laughed as a whole and Frankie felt warm and safe.

"What are you doing?"

"This is for Frankie when she's old and gray so she can remember how hot I was back in the good ole days." Video Thomas quirked one eyebrow and stared directly into the camera.

"Yeah, right." He monotoned, cracking another giant smile when Alex protested. The video faded through more memories, Frankie's first birthday,Frankie's first steps, their first christmas as a family. At one point, present day Frances stopped watching the video long enough to take a look around the room at the people who loved her most.

Hercules, John, and Lafayette were all somehow fitting on one loveseat, with Charles snuggled up in John's lap. Charles always loved a good cuddle pile. Frankie looked down at Daisy, who had one cheek pressed against Frankie's boob because that was her favorite pillow. On her other side, Angelica and Eliza were petting each others' hair, Peggy sitting on the floor in front of them. And on the far end of the couch, Dad and Papa were tangled up in each other so much, Frankie wondered how they would manage to get back up. Their legs were intertwined and Dad had one hand across the front of Papa's waist, twisting the edge of his shirt between his fingers. Dad never could keep still. Papa had an arm around Dad's shoulders, Dad laying on his chest, and was stroking his fingers through Dad's hair. Frankie noted that both of them needed a shave, gray hairs dominated black in both of their beards and aged them nicely. Papa's eyes were shining with tears as he watched the video. He seemed to sense Frankie's eyes on him, because he turned his head and made eye contact before she could look away. When he grinned, his dimples made lines in his cheeks. Frankie smiled back, feeling her own eyes start to water. Papa pursed his lips and blew a kiss at her and she blew one right back, mimicking catching his kiss and putting it on her heart. Papa used the hand that was in Dad's hair to reach up and catch her kiss, placing it on his cheek. Frankie giggled and turned her attention back to the tv. After all, their story was far from over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE IT IS.
> 
> i wanted to write frankie's whole life but i decided against it so you guys could have that freedom. what's frankie's sexuality? is she gay? bi? straight? does she have kids? does she get married? her life is whatever you want it to be!!! and yo, i encourage you guys who have been with me since chapter one to write even 300 word drabbles about this story. some of you guys, i see your names every time i update and i love it!!! i want you guys to start writing even if you don't think you're good at it. im a terrible writer and before this year i could barely write over 1k words in a story. and now look at us?! i've written almost 60k words since january. which reminds me, if you haven't read my other jamilton fic go read it!!! they work in an office and yell a lot and it's great. i plan to come back to this verse and write more bits and pieces from their lives. there's a lot that i missed.
> 
> special thanks to Momma_Time who wrote a super cute morning after moment that you all need to read. she's been here since i started writing my first jamilton fic and her support keeps me motivated!!!
> 
> thanks for almost 5000 HITS WTF. it's at 4800 right now but after i upload this chapter we'll pass it so THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!! you're all incredible and i reread all your comments like every day. i love your headcanons and ideas about frankie/jamilton and you all make me want to write more and more!!!
> 
> for more frankie content and another couple thousand words of hcs, scroll through this tag:  
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com
> 
> (i'm still figuring out links here im sry i see your comments telling me how to do it and im still failing dlgjskjhg)
> 
> thank you so much for reading and i hope this was everything you wanted in an epilogue!!
> 
> love always,  
> ariel

**Author's Note:**

> this is unbeta'd so sorry for any mistakes! plus it's late and ive been babysitting for 11 hours so my brain might not be at its best. also i wrote the last paragraph while on the phone so its possible it doesn't make any sense but i want to upload this before midnight so i'll just fix it later
> 
> follow me for cute baby stories:
> 
> anentireuncookedmeatloaf.tumblr.com

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Heart Eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10069775) by [Momma_Time](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma_Time/pseuds/Momma_Time)




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